WINNER OF THE FOOTNOTE X COUNTERPOINTS WRITING PRIZE 2023-24
‘Vivid, compassionate, captivating’ Elif Shafak
‘A special and original voice, one for our times’ Philippe Sands
‘A moving and tender story about love and identity, and a meditation on the people who make us who we are’ Dina Nayeri
A beautiful and compelling family memoir retracing the love story between Sabrin Hasbun’s Palestinian father and Italian mother, and the life of her half-Italian, half-Palestinian family from the 1960s to 2020. After the loss of her mother, Sabrin tries to renegotiate her mixed identity and understand her mother’s choices which led her from an oppressive childhood in a village in Tuscany to finding love and community activism in Palestine.
This is a story about overcoming grief and what it means to lose not only loved ones, but also a place in the world and a sense of belonging.
‘Vivid, compassionate, captivating, Sabrin’s writing is both deeply rooted in place and culture, and transcending borders in its universality and humanity.’ – Elif Shafak
‘Sabrin’s writing is captivating, drawing us warmly into a world that is both different and familiar, that we want to know about. A special and original voice, one for our times.’ – Philippe Sands
‘A moving and tender story about love and identity, and a meditation on the people who make us who we are.’ – Dina Nayeri
Sabrin Hasbun was born in Palestine, spent her childhood in Palestine and Italy, and now lives in the UK. She holds a PHD in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University and lectures in Creative Writing at Cardiff Met University.
