They couldn't be more different: Saba-Nur Cheema's family comes from Pakistan, she herself grew up in a Frankfurt hotspot district, shaped by conservative Muslim community life. Meron Mendel was born in Israel and grew up in a kibbutz in the middle of the desert, where he served in the military in the West Bank and Lebanon before coming to Germany to study.
As a couple, they now look at the increasingly polarized world together and talk about it. Their book begins at their dinner table, where they reflect on everyday life in Frankfurt and the big questions of our time - and how everything is connected. In the process, they discover how enlightening each other's perspectives can be and how much they have in common despite their supposed differences.
Their essays, which are both personal and political, are about kitchen drawers, raising children and colonialism. About identity politics, the Middle East conflict, Ramadan lighting in the city center and Christmas trees. Their book is an analysis of our present, a plea for being open even in difficult times - and an invitation to talk to each other.
