Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm (Hardcover) (PREORDER)

Fiction - Horror - Psychological - Gothic - Places - Middle East

RELEASE DATE: 9/22/2026  (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER'S WAREHOUSE)

In this lyrical debut, three generations of Palestinian women must put the haunting of their ancestral home to rest, before the secrets of the past drown them all. Our Cut of Salt is a powerful and intimate look at what it means to make a home, to lose it, and to return, only to find it irrevocably changed.

There is something haunting Nuhad’s childhood home in Haifa. Cats avoid its perimeter, strange noises come from within, and residents have mysteriously vanished without a trace. Although Nuhad has not returned to her home since the Nakba in 1948, she always held a place for the house in her heart.

And, in return, the house did the same for her.

After Nuhad passes away, her granddaughter, Marina, is determined to visit her grandmother’s home after a lifetime of being kept in the dark about her culture and family history. Marina's mother, Haifa - named for the city that was lost to their family - reluctantly agrees to her trip, though she knows firsthand that some secrets are better left buried.

But the house is no longer a home. It is a painful, festering wound that infects everything it touches. The more Marina digs into her family’s past, the sicker she becomes. Despite Nuhad’s ghostly warnings, Haifa rushes to help her daughter.

As the three women converge in their ancestral home, they must put the haunting to rest before the secrets of the past drown them all.

AUTHOR BIO: 

DEENA HELM is a mixed Palestinian-American author, and Our Cut of Salt is her debut novel. Her other works can be found in Fikra Magazine and So To Speak. She asks that you, the reader, do everything in your power to resist genocide and deepen your commitment to liberation for all.

"Lyrical and terrifying, Helm's portrait of generational trauma will leave you aching in its wake. Our Cut of Salt is not just a powerful exploration of injustice and survival, but also a testament to the power of love." --Monika Kim, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Eyes are the Best Part

"A haunting story of loss, displacement, and the strength of perseverance across generations. Helm has written a powerful tale of past wrongs, unanswered injustice, and the ghosts of vengeance and healing they might unleash." --P. Djèlí Clark, author of The Dead Cat Tail Assassins

"A gutting, visceral exploration of the violence of colonialism, and how it transcends generations. An unforgettable debut....You'll never be the same after reading this book." --Soraya Bouazzaoui, author of Aicha