A Gathering Place
Vicki Salloum
“There’s plenty of tension as Blue and her niece Jamila deal with racism, the ongoing threat of violence, and resistance from their family, but that tension is offset by the myriad of beautiful descriptions of the language, music, and food of three races, Lebanese, Latino, and African American. Filled with hope and redemption, A Gathering Place will capture your heart.”
—Susan Cushman, author of John and Mary Margaret and Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer’s
“Vicki Salloum’s A Gathering Place is a sophisticated multicultural family saga following the life of Blue—an elderly lady full of tenacity and passion as she follows a voice she heard from the Mother of God to rebuild a community. Using the remnants of memories after Hurricane Katrina to construct a future of love and a sense of place where all are welcomed, Blue is on a journey of faith and conviction.”
—Shome Dasgupta, author of Cajun South Brown Folk
A GATHERING PLACE
In the devastated landscape of post-Katrina New Orleans, 81-year-old Bahia "Blue" Bechara Hamieh receives what she believes is a divine calling that will change everything. Three nights in a row, while sitting vigil at her dying brother's bedside in the Mississippi Delta, Blue hears the unmistakable voice of the Virgin Mary: "Go to New Orleans. Make a gathering place. Be there to welcome them for me."
Against the desperate protests of her Lebanese-American family, who are convinced she's lost her grip on reality, Blue abandons her comfortable life on the Mississippi Coast and invests her entire inheritance in a deteriorating Greek Revival building on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard—a once-thriving commercial district now in decline.
Her vision is as audacious as it is seemingly impossible: transform this forgotten corner of Central City into a café that will unite three communities fractured by Hurricane Katrina's aftermath—working-class African Americans, Latino immigrants who came to rebuild the city, and her own Lebanese community. But Blue's sacred mission faces overwhelming obstacles at every turn.
Copper thieves prowl the neighborhood. Tensions simmer between longtime residents and newcomers. A troubled teenager wages a campaign of hostility against her Latino workers. Her own family stages increasingly desperate interventions to bring her home. And as the challenges mount, Blue must confront the most difficult question of all: Is she truly following a divine calling, or has grief and loss led her down a path toward destruction?
With the help of Alejandro, a Mexican artist-turned-contractor, and her devoted niece Jamila—the novel's narrator, who finds herself torn between protecting Blue and honoring her impossible dream—Blue presses forward with unwavering determination as opening night approaches.
Vicki Salloum's A Gathering Place is a luminous story that captures both the devastating aftermath of America's greatest natural disaster and the indomitable spirit of those who refused to let their communities die. Rich with authentic detail about family, faith, and the complex dynamics of a city rebuilding itself, this deeply moving novel explores what it means to belong and the extraordinary courage required to answer a calling that others cannot understand.
Perfect for readers of Ann Patchett, Barbara Kingsolver, and Elizabeth Strout, A Gathering Place asks: How far will you go to honor what you believe is your life's purpose? And in a world torn apart by loss and mistrust, can one woman's faith be enough to bring a broken community back together?
About Vicki
Born in Gulfport, Mississippi, Vicki Salloum has lived in New Orleans for many years with her husband, the late Wayne Joseph Holley. Her novel, Faulkner & Friends, was released in 2014 by Underground Voices of Los Angeles, California. Her debut novella, A Prayer to Saint Jude, was published in 2012 by Main Street Rag of Charlotte, North Carolina. Her third work, Candyland, was released in January 2016 by Moonshine Cove Publishing of Abbeville, South Carolina. And her fourth novel, Waiting for You at Midnight, was published in 2018 by Moonshine Cove. Her short fiction has been included in the anthologies When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple (Papier-Mache Press, 1987); Pass/Fail: 32 Stories About Teaching (Red Sky Books, 2001); Voices From the Couch (America House, 2001); and Umpteen Ways of Looking at a Possum: Critical and Creative Responses to Everette Maddox (Xavier Review Press, 2006). She holds an MFA in creative writing from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
