Always Carry Salt, with Author, Playwright, and Journalist Samantha Ellis

About this episode

J.R. Jamison interviews Samantha Ellis about her memoir 'Always Carry Salt' and the themes of cultural heritage and resilience.

J.R. Jamison sits down with Samantha Ellis to journey through time, language, and cultural connectivity as the two explore her new memoir, Always Carry Salt. The daughter of Iraqi Jewish refugees, Samantha grew up surrounded by the noisy, vivid, hot sounds of Judeo-Iraqi Arabic; a language that’s on the verge of extinction. Now, raising her own family, she questions how to pass on this heritage without passing on the trauma of displacement. Always Carry Salt is a life-affirming tale of resilience and repair, the healing power of our ancestor's music, stories, and recipes, and a moving meditation on the words and traditions that shape us.

People in this episode

Host: J.R. Jamison

Guest: Samantha Ellis

Topics covered

• memoir
• cultural heritage
• language
• resilience
• family
• displacement

Keywords

• memoir
• Samantha Ellis
• cultural connectivity
• Iraqi Jewish
• language preservation
• family traditions
• displacement
• resilience

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Always Carry Salt

Places: Iraq, Judeo-Iraqi

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