Taking Leave

At a time when divisiveness, xenophobia, and nationalism are surging, Duke University Press

releases Deborah Kapchan’s new memoir, Taking Leave. The story begins in Jerusalem just

weeks before the October 7th attacks as the author embarks on a pilgrimage to understand the

three faiths that have anchored her life—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Weaving in

meaningful experiences from New York, Paris, Casablanca, Abu Dhabi and beyond, Kapchan

explores lineages, identities, and the spaces in between.

Invoking the power of personal narrative to communicate across boundaries, Taking Leave

reveals Kapchan’s path to reconcile what history has deemed irreconcilable, sharing practical

ways to forgo tribalism and “either-or” paradigms to experience empathy and peaceful

coexistence.

A must-read for anyone interested in transcending borders, as well as scholars, students, and

professionals in the humanities, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution.

~ Praise for Taking Leave ~

“In this moving memoir Deborah Kapchan artfully unveils the connections among Judaism, Christianity,

and Islam. Stretching beyond Kapchan’s journey of personal and intellectual self-discovery, this

wonderful literary achievement brings us much-needed measures of inspired hope to our troubled times.”

~ Paul Stoller, author of Wisdom from the Edge: Writing Ethnography in Turbulent Times

“This book is a joy to read, speaking deeply and powerfully to a shared and fundamental human

experience by means of Deborah Kapchan’s unique vision and voice. I adore this touching and

remarkable book.” ~ Martin Shuster, author of How to Measure a World? A Philosophy of Judaism

Deborah Kapchan

DEBORAH KAPCHAN is an American writer, translator and ethnographer, specializing in

North Africa and its diaspora in Europe, professor emerita of performance studies at New York

University and former director of The Américo Paredes Center for Cultural Studies at the

University of Texas, Austin. Kapchan’s book, Poetic Justice: An Anthology of Contemporary

Moroccan Poetry was shortlisted for the American Literary Translators Association’s prize for

poetry in 2021, and her forthcoming memoir, Taking Leave, is the latest entry in

Duke’s Practices series.

in conversation with

Jackie Corley

In past lives, Jackie Corley was a reporter, a drone operator, and the publisher of Word Riot. In the current one, she's VP of Content for a radio company. Corley received an MFA from the Bennington College. Her fiction has appeared in BULL, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Redivider and Fourteen Hills, among others. She lives in the Hudson Valley but will always be a Jersey girl at heart.