Welcome to Picking Lemons!

I’m a children’s book writer, poet and educator.

I am inspired by Maria Popova's words from TheMarginalian based on René Magritte:

“In a world pocked by cynicism and pummeled by devastating news, to find joy for oneself and spark it in others, to find hope for oneself and spark it in others, is nothing less than a countercultural act of courage and resistance. This is not a matter of denying reality — it is a matter of discovering a parallel reality where joy and hope are equally valid ways of being. To live there is to live enchanted with the underlying wonder of reality, beneath the frightful stories we tell ourselves and are told about it.”

I know complex joy as an Australian born daughter of an Iraqi Jewish refugee, an immigrant myself, and a married mother of four boys living in Jerusalem. I write about the every day, the wonder, the stories, people and recipes. I write about my search for my Iraqi Jewish history and identity. I share whatever brings me joy and hope.

As René Magritte writes, “We must go in search of enchantment.”

Join my journey!

Feel free to comment and be in touch.

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About Sarah

(Photo Credit: Rachel Markowitz)

Sarah is an Australian born, Iraqi Jewish writer, poet, and educator. She is the author of the award winning picture book, Shoham’s Bangleand This is Not a Cholent. Her poetry micro chapbook, This is Why We Don’t Look Back was awarded the Harbor Review Jewish Women’s Poetry prize. Her poetry and personal essays have been published in Consequence Forum, Hadassah Magazine, Michigan Quarterly and elsewhere. She is an editorial advisor for Distinctions: A Sephardi and Mizrahi Journal, and she received her MFA in English Literature and Poetry from Bar Ilan University.

Sarah’s writing follows her curiosity exploring her Iraqi Jewish history, the story of refugees and resilience, the rich, layered 2600-year-old culture of Babylonian Jews, with a special interest in Middle Eastern women’s experience.

Sarah currently lives in Jerusalem with her four boys and a Belgian Malinois she found at her local coffeeshop.

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