Home Is Beyond the Mountains

Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press

Celia Barker Lottridge
$8.95

A Diaspora: The Tale of the Doomed in the Fertile

Crescent
In this coming of age novel, Lottridge is able to take the reader
on a journey throughout the Middle East when a group of orphans lost
in the world are just trying to find their way home. Set in an unlikely
place, this book captures a quick snapshot of the couple of years these
kids endure in their respective journeys to find their homes, families,
and themselves. A work of fiction, based on actual events, brings to life
the tragedies millions of people had to face during a struggling era.
Celia Barker Lottridge was born in the United States of America
and currently resides in Toronto, Canada. How could a woman, born
and raised in the Western world have any connection whatsoever to
lands so far away? Lottridges mother and aunt were both children of
the first American missionaries that voyaged to the far lands of Iran,
known as Persia then, to help them out. Her aunt later goes back to
Persia to specifically help Assyrian orphans who were forced into
orphanages. This story plays close to the heart of author Lottridge.
Before reading this book, one should consider brushing up on
their Middle Eastern history to get whats really going on. In the Middle

East, reside many Christian groups of peoples such as the Assyrians

and the Armenians. Both groups, which have inhibited the Fertile
Crescent for thousands are still around today. From once ruling the
lands known as Mesopotamia, to now mere minorities, Christian groups
face oppression from the predominately Islamic region. Clash of
cultures one might say? Correct.
After World War I, Turkish armies invaded Iran in their own war,
forcing thousands of Assyrians and Armenians from their homes and
villages to seek pilgrimage in foreign lands. This is where we meet our
protagonist of the story, Samira. Her family, who resided in a village in
a small northern town called Ayna in Iran, are warned that the Turkish
people are coming and killing all of the boys and men along their way.
This forces Samira, who is just a child, and her family; Mama, Baba,
Benyamin, and Maryam, to venture out on foot, with few belongings,
for numerous months. Unfortunately, Samira and her brother,
Benyamin, face many difficulties and obstacles they must overcome in
order to save their lives and succeed in finding a home.
Lottridge does an outstanding job connecting the reader to little
girls and boys. She makes the treacherous journey thousands of
Assyrians and Armenians had to take come to life on paper and ink.
Seeing harmless orphans, with no life after the war, being placed into
orphanage after orphanage was heart wrenching before Miss Susan
Shedd came to become the new director. Based on Lottridges aunt,

Miss Shed brought hope and inspiration to both the reader and the
characters in the book.
Remember how you told Miss Shedd that we all walked from our
villages to Hamadan [safe zone in Iran]? Now she says, why cant we
walk back?
Will the Assyrian orphans ever be able to make it home? Will
they be safe? One must read in order to find out what lays ahead in the
future of the orphans.