Happy New Year, everyone! We are delighted to have our former editor/curator back with us to start 2026 off right. Leilya Pitre is our January contributor, and she has this to say about the upcoming Weekend Picks:
"Let this year be the best for every one of you—let it allow you to carry out your dreams and take you to the place where you want to be. This month, I am featuring my students--the teacher candidates who are already in or getting ready for residency in local public 6-12 schools. These are my future colleagues, and I know each one of them will be a wonderful teacher because I see that caring and nurturing is in their nature. Let me share my choice first."
"Let this year be the best for every one of you—let it allow you to carry out your dreams and take you to the place where you want to be. This month, I am featuring my students--the teacher candidates who are already in or getting ready for residency in local public 6-12 schools. These are my future colleagues, and I know each one of them will be a wonderful teacher because I see that caring and nurturing is in their nature. Let me share my choice first."
 Leilya Pitre | First, a bit more about Leilya. Leilya Pitre is an associate professor, English Education coordinator, and director of the Southeast Louisiana Writing Project. She teaches undergraduate and graduate students at Southeastern Louisiana University. Leilya is an active reader, writer, and poet. When she is not working, she is playing with her new White German Shepard Buddy, listening to the music, walking, traveling with her husband, or meditating in the kitchen. |
A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi
The novel that haunted me long after I turned the final page is A Land of Permanent Goodbyes (2018). The author, Atia Abawi, worked as CNN and NBC war correspondent stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan, for five years. Her journalist talent allowed her to create vivid imagery and emotionally charged, unsettling narrative that made me immerse in the realities of war, loss, and displacement during the Syrian refugee crisis.
 | From the opening chapter, readers are introduced to Tareq and his family at their happiest time. Their love for one another is strong and protective. It is customary for the older siblings care deeply for the younger ones, and Tareq shares a special, tender bond with his mother. This sense of warmth makes the events that follow even more heartbreaking, as the life Tareq knows is suddenly torn away. One of the most devastating moments in the novel occurs when Tareq witnesses the tragedy that takes away most of his family. The contrast between memory of his happy childhood surrounded by parents and siblings and harsh reality of the present destruction and loss is what made this scene especially painful to read. As Tareq speaks his final goodbyes to the loved ones and his country, I kept thinking about an earlier moment when his life was full of joy. |
| What makes this novel even more impactful is Abawi’s choice to have Destiny narrate it. Destiny knows not only Tareq’s suffering, but also the pain of everyone affected by the war, including the men who help find people in the rubble after the airstrikes. By shifting the perspective this way, Abawi reminds readers that grief is shared and layered. Even in his broken state, Tareq promises that he will take care of the family he has left, holding onto hope without knowing who has survived. Through this moment, the novel shows how loss and hope can exist at the same time, making A Land of Permanent Goodbyes a deeply moving and unforgettable read. |  Atia Abawi |
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