Book Launch - Don't Ask The Trees For Their Names - Saturday 28 March

Saturday 28 March

We’re really excited to welcome the authors of Don’t Ask the Trees for Their Names: Stories of Leaving and Becoming (Gazebo Books, 2025) to Moonacres for an evening of conversation about food, home, memory and belonging.

This anthology brings together the voices of nine Arab Australian women — Sivine Tabbouch (Sunday Kitchen), Oula Ghannoum, Nouha Francis, Loubna Haikal, Hend Saab, Kilda Eid, Mariam Maatooq, Mary Hanoun-Khilla and Camilia Naim — each bringing her own story of migration, identity and becoming. 

Their writing moves between kitchens and countries, family tables and new beginnings, offering many different ways of understanding what “home” can mean.

Our connection with this book began in the most Moonacres way possible — through food. Sivine Tabbouch and her daughter Karima from Sunday Kitchen recently cooked with us at the school, sharing recipes, stories and time around the table. That experience opened the door to this broader conversation with the women behind the book.

At its heart, Don’t Ask the Trees for Their Names is more than a collection of essays — it’s a meditation on how food, memory and belonging travel with us, even when the places we call home change. 

Each author brings a deeply personal story of migration — stories of departure, loss, love and renewal — and shows how the everyday act of cooking becomes a way of holding on, letting go, and remaking a sense of self in a new land. These are voices that refuse to be flattened into stereotype; instead, they reveal rich, nuanced experiences of identity rooted in family recipes, shared tables and the rituals that shape our inner landscapes. 

Through food-centred storytelling, the anthology invites readers to reconsider the meanings of home and belonging — not as fixed places, but as living, layered gatherings of history, taste, language and connection.

In this conversation, we’ll sit with some of these writers as they reflect on the meals that travelled with them, the flavours that hold memory, and the ways cooking can become both an anchor to home and a way of making a new one. These stories carry courage and tenderness in equal measure — they speak to what it takes to leave, to begin again, and to build a sense of self in unfamiliar ground.

The evening begins at 5:30 and concludes at 7:30pm with refreshments provided on arrival. Simon and the team at Moonacres looks forward to seeing you here for this wonderful conversation.

Host - Simon Marnie

We are delighted to welcome Simon Marnie as the host and interviewer for this special evening at Moonacres School.

Simon is one of Australia’s most respected broadcasters and storytellers. Over more than two decades on ABC Radio, he became a trusted voice for audiences across New South Wales through his much-loved Weekend Mornings program. Known for his curiosity, warmth and ability to draw out meaningful conversations, Simon has spent his career exploring the stories that sit behind food, culture, community and place.

Listeners will recognise Simon’s distinctive style — thoughtful, generous and deeply attentive to the people in front of him. Whether speaking with farmers, chefs, writers or local communities, he has a rare gift for creating space where stories can unfold naturally and honestly.

Simon also has a long and valued connection with the Moonacres community, having hosted a number of cooking events with Moonacres Kitchen over the years and sharing a long friendship with Phil Lavers. His appreciation for good food, thoughtful conversation and the people behind both makes him a perfect guide for this evening.

As host of the conversation for Don’t Ask the Trees for Their Names, Simon will sit with the contributing writers to explore the themes at the heart of the book — migration, memory, identity and the powerful role food and the shared table play in shaping our sense of home.