On Freedom Street

On Freedom Street is the story of a Turkish boy, Mehmet, and his twin journeys, one from the snowy mountain village of his birth to the warm Mediterranean city of Adana, the other from the security of childhood into the joys and complexities of the adult world. Barely an adolescent, he is sent to work for the Erdemir family—Asya, an unmarried woman in her fifties, and her two brothers, from whom she keeps house. As a friendship develops between Mehmet and Asya, he also encounters Asya's neighbor and friend, Oya, a widow in her late thirties. Keenly observant and deeply nonjudgmental, Mehmet is never one to question his circumstances. Life unfolds, with its cruelties and sorrows as well as its strange magic and surprise. Written with a delicate compassion and unyielding honesty, On Freedom Street is a book about honor, loyalty, and the power of tradition. But equally it is a story about women—mysterious and wise creatures who, in quiet, unobtrusive ways, keep the world steady and alive.

Yesho Atil

Born in Ankara, Turkey, Yesho Atil moved to the United States at the age of eleven. She earned a BA and an MFA from the University of Alabama and teaches English and creative writing at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in Asheville, North Carolina.

Reviews

On Freedom Street is a remarkably lovely and true novel. Told with an almost deceptive simplicity, the story of Mehmet lures a reader through a whole series of awakenings and transformations by a light that makes the whole world seem new. Yesho Atil writes with an uncommon wisdom and with unfailing grace. She has made a book of deep and lasting value.

—Susan Dodd, author of Old Wives' Tale

Ordering Information

To purchase On Freedom Street by Yesho Atil, please contact our distributor, University Press of New England toll free at 1-800-421-1561 or by fax at 1-603-448-9729. The book is also available online at UPNE, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other fine retailers.

To request a copy for review, please contact the Carnegie Mellon University Press Editorial Offices at (412) 268-2861 or by email at CarnegieMellonUniversityPress@gmail.com.