"Ellis’s book is a useful reminder that Jewish generational trauma is not confined to the descendants of those who survived the Holocaust. In fact, given the ubiquity of refugees in the modern world, Always Carry Salt's aching sense of loss has a truly global resonance."

– The Guardian

"Urgent, alive, propulsive. I adored it."

– Marina Benjamin, author of Last Days in Babylon

“Thoroughly enjoyable. Samantha Ellis has done something wonderful and unique with Always Carry Salt.”

– Ross Perlin, Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York</

“I am amazed at the breadth and range of Samantha Ellis’s knowledge and insights, and love the endearing and humorous way she shares information that is tragic and frightening as well as heart-warming and full of hope.” 

– Claudia Roden, award-winning and bestselling author of Book of Jewish Food, The New Book

"I loved this book so much. It's a heart-opener and an eye-opener, an invitation to understand our world better. Think: The Body Keeps the Score in practice not theory."

– Ella Risbridger, author of Midnight Chicken 

"A moving and resonant lament for the past but also a thought-provoking siren call for the future."

– Anne Sebba, author of The Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz

“A wonderfully immersive and sensitive meditation on belonging and identity, explored through the grief of a language facing extinction. Samantha Ellis tells the story of her Iraqi Jewish family, their sayings and their memories, in a way that is so joyously intimate that you feel you know their mother tongue. When I finished it, I felt like someone had chopped onions on my heart.” 
 

– Viv Groskop, author of One Ukrainian Summer and The Anna Karenina Fix

"An optimistic and often wryly funny book. A gift to the future, rich with insights about the nature of belonging that are not limited to one community but matter to all of us."

– The Observer

"A beautiful tale of painful cultural loss, delicious food, rich history; and the bittersweet grief that only the perfect recipe can solve. A truly enlightening book that will leave you hungry yet satisfied."

– Cariad Lloyd, author of You Are Not Alone

"I couldn't put it down.  Easily my non-fiction book of the year."

– Rukmini Iyer, author of The Roasting Tin 

"A story of resilience, identity, and the importance of language to a culture."

– Library Journal

"An immigrant daughter retraces her family’s origins in a sometimes pensive, sometimes humorous memoir. A lovely evocation of a language and culture that stand just this side of oblivion."

– Kirkus Reviews, Starred

"Ellis elicits hope and heartbreak in this moving exploration of her Iraqi Jewish roots. She successfully highlights both the richness of her mother tongue and the existential stakes of her quest. The journey is equal parts inspirational and edifying."

– Publishers Weekly