Bozuk

A woman's journey of self-discovery through the heart of Turkey.

When Madeleine Turka looks in her mirror, what does she see? A girl who lost her father at an early age, a young woman who supported a grieving alcoholic mother, and as a middle-aged sex/massage therapist for seniors, someone all alone. Then an unexpected inheritance arrives, and she determines now is the time to pick up and discover herself through a quest that takes her back to the land of her parents. The quiet, awkward Madeleine finds herself amid a tumultuous mix of pluralism, soul-searching matters of family breakdown, personal fragility, and human connection. And thankfully she is not alone... A secrets-sharing website has connected her with a cyber-friend who responded to her anonymous plea “Find me.”

This is a tale for our times, enveloping the reader in a fictionalized travel memoir that blossoms with vivid language and imagery accessible to all. The storyteller’s family were refugees, and her experiences following their assimilation into Canadian society mirrors many of the personal confrontations, sacrifices, and moments of discovery that underlie family dynamics with each new wave of émigrés. This literary travel memoir is for readers interested in Turkish culture, personal transformation, and the search for meaning.