Day of Honey : A Memoir of Food, Love, and War

The author discusses her marriage to a man from Beirut, the bond she forged with her Lebanese in-laws, and how she found love, good food, and a meaningful life, despite dividing her time between wartorn Iraq and Lebanon. American Book Award Winner Winner Of Books For A Better Life Award (first Book) James Beard Foundation Award Nominee Bnn Discover Awards, Second Place Nonfiction A Luminous Portrait Of Life In The Middle East, Day Of Honey Weaves History, Cuisine, And Firsthand Reporting Into A Fearless, Intimate Exploration Of Everyday Survival. In The Fall Of 2003, Annia Ciezadlo Spent Her Honeymoon In Baghdad. Over The Next Six Years, While Living In Baghdad And Beirut, She Broke Bread With Shiites And Sunnis, Warlords And Refugees, Matriarchs And Mullahs. Day Of Honey Is Her Memoir Of The Hunger For Food And Friendship—a Communion That Feeds The Soul As Much As The Body In Times Of War. Reporting From Occupied Baghdad, Ciezadlo Longs For Normal Married Life. She Finds It In Beirut, Her Husband’s Hometown, A City Slowly Recovering From Years Of Civil War. But Just As The Young Couple Settles Into A New Home, The Bloodshed They Escaped In Iraq Spreads To Lebanon And Reawakens The Terrible Specter Of Sectarian Violence. In Lucid, Fiercely Intelligent Prose, Ciezadlo Uses Food And The Rituals Of Eating To Illuminate A Vibrant Middle East That Most Americans Never See. We Get To Know People Like Roaa, A Determined Young Kurdish Woman Who Dreams Of Exploring The World, Only To See Her Life Under Occupation Become Confined To The Kitchen; Abu Rifaat, A Baghdad Book Lover Who Spends His Days Eavesdropping In The Ancient City’s Legendary Cafés; Salama Al-khafaji, A Soft-spoken Dentist Who Eludes Assassins To Become Iraq’s Most Popular Female Politician; And Umm Hassane, Ciezadlo’s Sardonic Lebanese Mother-in-law, Who Teaches Her To Cook Rare Family Recipes—which Are Included In A Mouthwatering Appendix Of Middle Eastern Comfort Food. As Bombs Destroy Her New Family’s Ancestral Home And Militias Invade Her Beirut Neighborhood, Ciezadlo Illuminates The Human Cost Of War With An Extraordinary Ability To Anchor The Rhythms Of Daily Life In A Larger Political And Historical Context. From Forbidden Baghdad Book Clubs To The Oldest Recipes In The World, Ciezadlo Takes Us Inside The Middle East At A Historic Moment When Hope And Fear Collide. Day Of Honey Is A Brave And Compassionate Portrait Of Civilian Life During Wartime—a Moving Testament To The Power Of Love And Generosity To Transcend The Misery Of War. The award-winning, powerful portrait of life in the Middle East, that weaves history, cuisine, and firsthand reporting into a fearless, intimate exploration of everyday survival. In the fall of 2003, as Iraq descended into civil war, Annia Ciezadlo spent her honeymoon in Baghdad. For the next six years, she lived in Baghdad and Beirut, where she dodged bullets during sectarian street battles, chronicled the Arab world's first peaceful revolution, and watched Hezbollah commandos invade her Beirut neighborhood. Throughout all of it, she broke bread with Sunnis and Shiites, warlords and refugees, matriarchs and mullahs. Day of Honey is her story of the hunger for food and friendship during wartime—a communion that feeds the soul as much as the body. In lush, fiercely intelligent prose, Ciezadlo uses food and the rituals of eating to uncover a vibrant Middle East most Americans never see. We get to know people like Roaa, a young Kurdish woman whose world shrinks under occupation to her own kitchen walls; Abu Rifaat, a Baghdad book lover who spends his days eavesdropping in the ancient city's legendary cafés; and the unforgettable Umm Hassane, Ciezadlo's sardonic Lebanese mother-in-law, who teaches her to cook rare family recipes (included in a mouthwatering appendix of Middle Eastern comfort food). From dinner in downtown Beirut to underground book clubs in Baghdad, Day of Honey is a profound exploration of everyday survival—a moving testament to the power of love and generosity to transcend the misery of war. New York. Introduction : the siege -- The quiet assassin -- Afghanistanism -- The bride of the world -- Majaddara -- Honeymoon in Baghdad. The benefits of civilization -- "Iraq has no cuisine"--Becoming human -- The movement of democratic lovers -- The sumer land -- The flavor of freedom -- Iftar alone -- Chicken soup for the Iraqi soul -- The devil's Hijab -- The free one -- Even a strong person can ask for peace -- Beirut. Republic of Foul -- The green revolution -- Death in Beirut -- The war of the kitchen -- The operation -- Eat, pray, war. Fear and shopping -- Mighli -- Cooking with Umm Hassane -- Supper of stones -- God, Nasrallah, and the suburbs. There are no Shiites in this neighborhood -- My previous experience in warfare Ciezadlo presents a beautifully written, fiercely intelligent memoir exploring the heightened meaning of cooking during wartime