Kim Salzman
Author Interview - Kim Salzman
Author of Straddling Black and White
Straddling Black and White follows the story of brave, fourteen-year-old Azmera, who takes part in the joins the mass immigration of Ethiopian Jewry to Israel in the 1980s. Azmera embarks on the treacherous journey to join her father in Israel, leaving her pregnant mother and four younger siblings behind in war-torn Ethiopia. Upon arrival in Israel, Azmera struggles to assimilate into a country where the language, the land, and the people are both foreign and familiar. As she begins to fulfill her dream of living in the Jewish homeland, her father develops a growing dependency on alcohol in his attempt to numb the daily humiliation he faces as a new immigrant. Azmera is confronted with shocking secrets from her parents’ past, making her doubt everything she once knew. With each passing day, Azmera learns that the world she once took for granted as black and white is much more nuanced and complex than she ever could have imagined.
Author Interview - Kim Salzman
Author I draw inspiration from: Cheryl Strayed
Author Interview - Kim Salzman | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book: Outside under my tree
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Ari Ben Canaan, Exodus
Author Interview - Kim Salzman | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: Since I was a little girl writing chapter books in my grandmother's living room
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Paperback
The last book I read: Here I Am, Jonathan Safran Foer
Author Interview - Kim Salzman | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer: Computer
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Jo March, Little Women
Author Interview - Kim Salzman | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: I'm not a full-time author, so I would keep my day job!
Favorite decade in fashion history: 70s
Place I’d most like to travel: India
My signature drink: White wine
Favorite artist: Marc Chagall
Number one on my bucket list: Learning to speak Arabic
Find more from the author:
Kim Salzman - Author (Facebook)
Author Bio: Kim Salzman was born and raised in Ohio. After receiving a law degree from the University of Michigan, Kim fulfilled a lifelong dream by immigrating to Israel. In Israel, Kim served in the international law department of the Israel Defense Forces, and worked for the United Nations Refugee Agency, and for an NGO, advocating for the legal rights of Ethiopian-Israelis. Kim traveled to Ethiopia and was moved and intrigued by the heroic immigration of Ethiopian Jewry to Israel. Kim has written on various online outlets, including Kveller and The Times of Israel. Today, Kim lives in Northern Israel with her husband and three children.
