Chopping Onions on My Heart Paperback Launch

Samantha Ellis is at The Cookbook Shop in Leith on Thursday 29 October to launch the paperback of Chopping Onions on My Heart. It's a conversation evening, so rather than a reading, she'll be talking through the book and the stories that went into it.

Ellis is the daughter of Iraqi-Jewish refugees and grew up around Judeo-Iraqi Arabic, a language that's now on the verge of extinction. Chopping Onions on My Heart came from her wanting to pass her heritage on to her son without passing on the trauma that went with it. She wrote it after realising she might not be able to tell him the phrases her grandmother used, like 'chopping onions on my heart' — the title itself.

The book weaves personal narrative with culinary insights, and the reach of it is wide: it takes you from the Oxford School of Rare Jewish Languages to the banks of the River Tigris, with demon bowls, the perils of kohl and the joys of fusion food appearing along the way. It's as much about food and family as it is about a language slipping away.

The night is hosted by The Cookbook Shop and includes drinks and food tasters, so you'll get a taste of the culinary side of things while she talks. It runs from 7:30pm to 8:30pm at 19A Leith Walk, Leith, Edinburgh EH7 4AF, and tickets are £11.55.