Philistia is an ordinary university student with an extraordinary life. She has no idea when her father will be released from prison, and works part-time washing women’s bodies in the ancient Ottoman hammam in Nablus. A midwife and corpse washer in her time, Philistia can't help but reminisce about her late Grandma Zahia, who taught her the ritual ablutions and the secrets of life and death. In the darkness of the hamman in occupied Palestine, Philistia falls in love and embarks on a magical journey through her country's history, one of loss and centuries of oppression. As trees are uprooted around her, Philistia searches for a place of refuge, a place where she can plant a memory for the ones she’s lost.

"Originally published in Arabic as Ashjaar lil-Naas al-Ghaa'ibeen by Tamer Institute 2013"--Title page verso.