As Tiarne says goodbye to her family home and Rawah reflects on the huge family that raised her they both discover that home isn’t just a physical space but a collection of memories, smells, conversations and people.
Our House, Breathing by Tiarne Cook
After almost 30 years Tiarne’s family home had to be sold when her parents split and with the final goodbye, it really felt like she was farewelling much more – a lifetime of memories, as well as her old family dynamic. So where does home go when it’s no longer a physical place we can visit? And can we ever get it back?
Producer: Tiarne Cook
Supervising Producer: Eugenia Zoubtchenko
Special Thanks to The Cook family – Chris, Laurence, Hayley for taking the time to be interviewed.
Music: Delion, Sketchbook 2, Drizzle, Cafe Nostro, Trenton Channel, Reflections by Blue Dot Sessions.
Memories of 33 Broadway. (Image Credit: Tiarne Cook and the Cook family photo archives)
An Introvert’s Guide To Surviving An Arab Family of Extroverts by Rawah Arja
Rawah sometimes wonders if people think her family, a 25-strong Lebanese clan, are a cult. They live in three houses side-by-side on the same street in Punchbowl, south western Sydney, roaming freely onto each other’s properties, with detached fences and no clear boundaries. Despite what anyone on the outside might think of this her family’s arrangement, Rawah wouldn’t have it any other way. In this story, Rawah reflects on her huge family and the village that raised her.
Read Rawah’s essay ‘An Introvert’s Guide to Surviving an Arab Family of Extroverts’ here on the SRB.
Find more of her work at her website: rawaharjaauthor.com and follow her on Instagram @rawaharja.
Writer and Reader: Rawah Arja
Producers: Catriona Menzies-Pike and Allison Chan
Composer and sound designer: Elina Godwin
This piece was originally recorded for the Sydney Review of Books podcast.
All The Best credits:
Production Manager: Danni Stewart
Editorial Manager: Mell Chun
Host: Maddy Macquine
Episode mix and compile: Josh McKay
Social Media Producer: Matilda Fay