I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
A woman becomes disillusioned with the country she became a soldier for and must find a spiritual home after convincing her husband to take their family to the United States in author Dorit Sasson’s “Sand and Steel: A Memoir of Longing and Finding Home”.
The Synopsis
What’s it like to be lost between two worlds only to find a home in neither? In her new memoir Sand and Steel: A Memoir of Longing and Finding Home, Dorit Sasson expands the narrative begun in her award-winning debut Accidental Soldier: a Memoir of Service and Sacrifice in the Israel Defense Forces with her journey to understand what it means to come home changed by the world and to find a spiritual home between two vastly different worlds.
When Sasson, a native New Yorker, returns to her kibbutz following the second Israel-Lebanese war, she becomes disillusioned and shocked by the degree of economic depression and social change. Forced to make a decision about their economic futures, Sasson takes matters into her own hands and convinces her husband to leave a kibbutz that has abandoned him and a country that has turned its back and emigrate to the United States in search of the American dream. Torn between leaving the land she loved and fought for as an Israel Defense Forces soldier and the prospect of a brighter future, Sasson welcomes professional freedom that awaited her in the U.S. But when she arrives, the United States was not what it seemed—or perhaps she had changed in ways she hasn’t yet realized.
The Review
A powerful, somber yet touching story, this non-fiction read does an amazing job of bridging the gap between two very distinct cultures and worlds. From the life of war, violence and greed that forced the author’s family to flee the home they loved to find work in the United States, to the equally violent rise of hatred and bigotry that has resulted in deadly attacks, it can be heartbreaking and maddening to see two worlds erupting all around you.
Yet the author showcases a powerful lesson that many of us can take to heart, and that is the true definition of home. The author’s balance of personal reflection and her ability to capture the major cultural differences between her time in Israel and then moving back to the U.S., especially as an American-born turned Israeli citizen, was a truly impactful and insightful experience as a reader.
The Verdict
An emotional, heartfelt and personal journey of family, love and the path to finding where one belongs, author Dorit Sasson’s “Sand and Steel” is a must-read memoir. A story that touches on some powerful events in the last few decades around the world and utilizing personal experience and powerful imagery, this is a book that readers won’t want to put down anytime soon. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
About the Author
Dorit Sasson writes for a wide range of print and online publications, including The Huffington Post and The Writer, and speaks at conferences, libraries, and community centers. She is the author of the a featured chapter in Pebbles in the Pond: Transforming the World One Person at a Time, the latest installment of that best-selling series, and. She is the host of the global radio show “Giving Voice to Your Courageous Story.” She lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband and two children.
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