News from the life of a perpetually open house:

Willow House was recently the backdrop for an inspiring reading from Anna Badkhen, author of Peace Meals: Candy-Wrapped Kalashnikovs and Other War Stories. Anna shared her experiences as a war correspondent in Afghanistan and read excerpts of her recently published book on war and food. The reading was accompanied by a feast of Afghani cuisine, prepared and shared over an open fire by both new and old friends.

A description of the book in Anna’s words:

“Peace Meals” is a tribute to all my host families who live, and perish, on the edges of the world. It is my invitation to connect with the ordinary people trapped in mass violence of the last decade in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East and in East Africa; to break bread with them; and to peer past the looking glass of warfare led or backed by the United States into the lives of the people who, despite the violence and privation that kill their loved ones and decimate their towns, somehow, persevere.

more on Peace Meals here.