Writer Elif Shafak On Leaving, And Loving, Your Homeland

Shafak, who says she can likely never return to Istanbul, says, “We do not give up on the places we love just because we are physically detached from them. Motherlands are castles made of glass. In order to leave them, you have to break something—a wall, a social convention, a cultural norm, a psychological barrier, a heart. What you have broken will haunt you. To be an emigré, therefore means to forever bear shards of glass in your pockets.” – LitHub