I love coffee books. How to brew it, how to pour it real pretty, everything someone knows about it, new rules for it: if words are committed to paper about coffee, Iโm into it. It should come as no shock then that Sarina Prabasiโs new book The Coffeehouse Resistance: Brewing Hope in Desperate Times, released today, April 9th piqued my interest. Published by Green Writers Press, The Coffeehouse Resistance is a book about โlove, coffee, and the American dream.โ
Described as โpart coming-to-America story, part lyrical memoir and another part activistโs call to action,โ The Coffeehouse Resistance tells Prabasiโs story, from Nepal to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia before finally immigrating New York City, where along with her husband she started the Bronxโs Buunni Coffee. Were that the sum total of the book, it would be a wonderful read, the story of new Americans finding a home and success thanks in some part to coffee. But as it did with many things, the 2016 presidential election shifted the narrative.
In a time where nationalism was spiking and moving into the mainstream, Prabasi and her family were left to question their place in their new home. Would they be accepted under this new regime? But instead of sitting back and waiting their fates to befall them, the proprietors of Buunni used their cafe to enact change by harkening back to one of the original roles of the coffeehouse: as โa hub for local organizing and action.โ Per the website, the new narrative is one of โmoving from despair to hopeโฆ about building community, claiming home, and fighting for our shared dreams.โ
To promote her new work, Prabasi will be hitting the road for readings and book signings all across the country, including Expo this week in Boston. Other events throughout the month includes stops in Denver, Seattle, New York, and Portland, where you will be able to pick up a copy of your very own. Or, if you happen to not live in one of these five cities, The Coffeehouse Resistance: Brewing Hope in Desperate Times is available for purchase online and in retail stores like Barnes & Noble and Target. For more information on the book or the tour dates, visit Sarina Prabasiโs official website.
Zac Cadwaladerย is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas.ย Read more Zac Cadwaladerย on Sprudge.
Top image viaย The Coffeehouse Resistance: Brewing Hope in Desperate Times
