A review by sarah_grech
The Art of Leaving: A Memoir by Ayelet Tsabari

4.0

This is a great memoir that discusses themes of family, belonging and is overall a story of self-discovery. The book is beautifully written, although at times I feel as it is not fully cohesive, which I later realized is because several sections of this memoir had previously been published as independent essays. For example, Ayelet Tsabari divides one chapter by various types of foods she ate growing up and stories associated with those foods. The concept and execution were both well done, however, it seemed out of place in the overall narrative of the memoir.

While I loved this book, I felt like I could not relate to Ayelet. While I like stability, she loves change. Where I get nervous about life working out, she can just go with the flow. I think this added to why I enjoyed the book, as she writes in a way that makes me understand her life and choices even though it is so different from my own.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a tale of self-discovery and belonging, and who wants to better understand Yemeni Jewish culture.