The Istanbul TUYAP Book Fair is an enormous event where hundreds of publishing houses come together. Thousands upon thousands of books are on display and available for purchase. Visitors have the opportunity to attend panel discussions, readings and even get signatures from authors.

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            I was very excited to hear that the high school where I teach had planned a field trip to the book fair on the same day that I was invited to be a representative of EXPAT SOFRA with co-editor Francesca Rosa and contributors Ilse Naves-Scheidel and Gabrielle Reeves. This would be the first time I would be participating in the book fair from the other side of the stand. It was truly an incredible experience. We introduced the book to attendees passing by who seemed very interested in the concept of this fascinating book. It took the attention of people from all ages and genders. One young man in his 20s was very interested in purchasing it for his mother because she loves to cook, but does not read too much, and he felt these stories would intrigue her. Several people were very interested in following us on Instagram in anticipation of the release date of the Turkish translation.

            Between visitors to the stand, I had the opportunity to chat with the other contributors whom I had not met before. I found them to be such inspiring and fascinating people. We all bonded right away, and I felt proud and honored to be sharing this experience with them.

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            After spending some time at the stand and signing copies of Expat Sofra, we went up to the conference room for our reading and panel discussion. People were already waiting outside of the conference room’s door.  We took our places at the table, tested the microphones and were ready to begin. Francesca began with an introduction of the book and the contributors, in English and Turkish. A few people had difficulty understanding so we did our best to translate into Turkish. The listeners consisted of a group of people, who seemed to me to represent all different parts of Turkey. A young modern looking couple in their 40s, an older woman in her 60s, a conservative woman in her 50s wearing a headscarf, and a few college students, all stand out in my memory. I was particularly touched by the expressions on all of the listeners’ faces. They listened with such interest and so carefully so as not to miss a thing and always seemed to have a warm, welcoming smile on their faces. They laughed at our jokes and helped us, gently, with pronunciation. We all read excerpts from our stories. Time permitted me to read my entire story.

            We had agreed ahead of time to do the readings in English, but decided to read in Turkish at the last minute so that the attendees would get the most out of the session. The sudden change in plans made me feel a bit nervous, as Turkish is my second language, public speaking in Turkish is a bit anxiety provoking and I had to read it from my phone which didn’t help ease the tension. As I read, my focus was so intense on the words on my phone screen and not losing my place that I never looked up at the crowd. In my mind, I was assuming that the expressions were bored and uninterested as I felt like I had been reading for hours.

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            My story ended and I looked up for the first time. An older woman sitting near the front was crying and wiping tears from her face with a tissue. The expressions on the others’ faces gave me a warm feeling on comfort. As I listened to the other contributors read excerpts from their stories, I felt such intrigue and genuine curiosity about the rest of their stories. I had not finished reading all of the stories from Expat Sofra, so I, just like the other people in the audience, eagerly listened and felt very curious, wanting to hear more from these talented women.

            After the panel discussion and readings were finished, the woman who was crying approached. Choked up, she explained why she was so moved by my story. It brought back many beautiful memories of her grandmother, she said. Her family too had fled Greece in the Greco-Turkish population exchange and settled in Tekirdag.  We chatted for a brief moment, and then left the conference room. Later, back at the bookstand, she came, bought the book and asked me to sign it. I signed it ‘in memory of our grandmothers’.  She asked for my email address, as she really prefers the Turkish translation and plans to buy the Turkish version as well. She asked if we could meet for coffee so I could sign that copy too.

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            My heart was so full, such an incredible feeling. It brought to mind a favorite poem of mine from Emily Dickinson:

                                                If I can stop one heart from breaking

                                                I shall not live in vain;

                                                If I can ease one life the aching,

                                                Or cool one pain,

                                                Or help one fainting robin

                                                Unto his nest again,

                                                I shall not live in vain.

I thought to myself, if my story has touched just one person, it has not been written in vain.