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Our Cut of Salt

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In this lyrical debut, three generations of Palestinian women must put the haunting of their ancestral home to rest, before the secrets of the past drown them all. Our Cut of Salt is a powerful and intimate look at what it means to make a home, to lose it, and to return, only to find it irrevocably changed.

There is something haunting Nuhad’s childhood home in Haifa. Cats avoid its perimeter, strange noises come from within, and residents have mysteriously vanished without a trace. Although Nuhad has not returned to her home since the Nakba in 1948, she always held a place for the house in her heart.

And, in return, the house did the same for her.

After Nuhad passes away, her granddaughter, Marina, is determined to visit her grandmother’s home after a lifetime of being kept in the dark about her culture and family history. Marina's mother, Haifa - named for the city that was lost to their family - reluctantly agrees to her trip, though she knows firsthand that some secrets are better left buried.

But the house is no longer a home. It is a painful, festering wound that infects everything it touches. The more Marina digs into her family’s past, the sicker she becomes. Despite Nuhad’s ghostly warnings, Haifa rushes to help her daughter.

As the three women converge in their ancestral home, they must put the haunting to rest before the secrets of the past drown them all.

Reviews

“Lyrical and terrifying, Helm’s portrait of generational trauma will leave you aching in its wake. Our Cut of Salt is not just a powerful exploration of injustice and survival, but also a testament to the power of love.” —Monika Kim, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Eyes are the Best Part

“Devastating....Our Cut of Salt rages and aches and demands your complete attention, recontextualizing the very notion of what a haunted house is, positioning itself alongside such modern marvels of horror as Alison Rumfitt’s Tell Me I'm Worthless and Tananarive Due’s The Good House.” —Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes

“Our Cut of Salt is the must-read of the year. Longing and rage are woven beautifully in this multi-generational family story, taking readers to the steps of a house in Haifa that they will not forget.” —Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times bestselling author of She Is a Haunting

“Our Cut of Salt is a raw and affecting dive into family secrets and the buried past in the best gothic haunted house tradition. Honest, heartfelt and gripping!” —Bitter Karella, author of Moonflow

“Deena Helm is a generational talent and voice, immediately in conversation with Shirley Jackson and Stephen Graham Jones…It’s a testament to Helm’s mastery of the craft that this book is horrifying even in its quiet moments…Painfully timely and poignant.” —Megan Bontrager, author of The Sea Hides its Dead

About the Author

DEENA HELM is a mixed Palestinian-American author, and Our Cut of Salt is her debut novel. Her other works can be found in Fikra Magazine and So To Speak. Alongside her literary endeavors, she has previously worked in social media, and you can find her @deenahlm in most places. She asks that you, the reader, do everything in your power to resist genocide and deepen your commitment to liberation for all.

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Book Details

  • Imprint: Nightfire
  • Genre: Horror
  • ISBN: 9781250434661
  • Page Count: 272
  • On Sale:

    September 22, 2026
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