As Tiarne says goodbye to her family home and Rawah reflects on the huge family that raised her they both discover that home isn’t just a physical space but a collection of memories, smells, conversations and people. 

Our House, Breathing by Tiarne Cook

After almost 30 years Tiarne’s family home had to be sold when her parents split and with the final goodbye, it really felt like she was farewelling much more - a lifetime of memories, as well as her old family dynamic. So where does home go when it’s no longer a physical place we can visit? And can we ever get it back? 

Producer: Tiarne Cook

Supervising Producer: Eugenia Zoubtchenko

Special Thanks to The Cook family - Chris, Laurence, Hayley for taking the time to be interviewed. 

Music: Delion, Sketchbook 2, Drizzle, Cafe Nostro, Trenton Channel, Reflections by Blue Dot Sessions. 

An Introvert’s Guide To Surviving An Arab Family of Extroverts by Rawah Arja 

Rawah sometimes wonders if people think her family, a 25-strong Lebanese clan, are a cult. They live in three houses side-by-side on the same street in Punchbowl, south western Sydney, roaming freely onto each other’s properties, with detached fences and no clear boundaries. Despite what anyone on the outside might think of this her family’s arrangement, Rawah wouldn’t have it any other way. In this story, Rawah reflects on her huge family and the village that raised her. 

In this episode Rawah Arja presents an essay on family life at her home in Punchbowl, Western Sydney.

Read Rawah’s essay ‘An Introvert’s Guide to Surviving an Arab Family of Extroverts’ here on the SRB.

Find more of her work at her website: rawaharjaauthor.com and follow her on Instagram @rawaharja.

Writer and Reader: Rawah Arja 

Producers: Catriona Menzies-Pike and Allison Chan 

Composer and sound designer: Elina Godwin 

This piece was originally recorded for the Sydney Review of Books podcast. You can also read Rawah’s essay on the Sydney Review of Books website. 

All The Best credits:

Production Manager: Danni Stewart 

Editorial Manager: Mell Chun

Host: Maddy Macquine

Episode mix and compile: Josh McKay 

Social Media Producer: Matilda Fay