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Leaving One’s Comfort Zone: The Story of One Man’s Escape From Turkey

Harry Johal

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Leaving One’s Comfort Zone: The Story of One Man’s Escape From Turkey

In recent years, emigration by the Turkish middle and upper classes has been an increasingly common thing. Leaving One’s Comfort Zone tells the story of Kutluer, who drops everything and leaves, forever altering the course of his life with a tourist visa and a carry-on, who chases his own dreams.

Press Release 
updated: May 17, 2021


Since the mid-2000s, leaving Turkey has been a social phenomenon associated with the changing social atmosphere, declining economy and a fear that is associated with state power. Compared to the migration from other Middle Eastern or Post-Colonial African or Asian Countries, the phenomena of leaving Turkey has emerged from and is almost, only contained to the well-educated middle, upper-middle-class who holds the idea of not belonging, not seeing a future in well harmony with their own ideologies. Of the many contributing factors, an undoubtedly crucial one is the distinct conflict between the “western values and modern ethics” of Turkey’s more prestigious schools, and the politics in Turkey, which have led to the mass exodus of thousands of students, teachers, artists and other well-educated natives, among them Gokhan Kutluer.

 

Leaving One’s Comfort Zone: A Story of a Move to Italy tells the story of Kutluer’s move from Turkey to Italy, following a burning desire to leave Turkey first instilled in him during his Erasmus semester in Italy as an undergraduate.

 

“There are a few, in our generation, who have narrated their story of leaving Turkey due to its social chaos,” writes Guvenis, the editor of the book, and continues, “Kutluer’s story couldn’t have come at a better time. He addresses a whole generation of well-educated, middle or upper-middle-class wanting to leave Turkey, even though remaining subjective and auto-fictional. His engagement with this social problem is hidden in the first chapters.”

 

Turkey’s government has come under much scrutiny from the rest of the world and people are no doubt much more aware of the problems driving the aspirational youth out of Turkey. Many social commentators have argued that Turkey’s young people are despairing, having grown up with President Erdogan in charge for the last 18 years, and for the thousands who are doubtless still to follow in Kutluer’s path, his book is almost something of a guidebook, through the changing cultural landscape as he travels from Istanbul to Bergamo.

 

Kutluer describes the book as a “story of achieving to leave, of not being able to persist, of not belonging, of statelessness, of struggle, self-exploration, of solitude and loneliness, family affairs and self-recognition.” His engagement with the social problems in Turkey is hidden in the first chapters of Leaving One’s Comfort Zone.

 

This ever-relevant story of emigration was a huge success in Turkey and has now been translated into English by Irem Bilkin.

 

Available on Amazon and other online book sellers.

Source: Gokhan Kutluer

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Books

Sandra Haynes’s New Novel “Fate” Follows Two Lives Changed by a Single Meeting

H Johal

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Sandra Haynes’s New Novel “Fate” Follows Two Lives Changed by a Single Meeting

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk

Sandra Haynes has released a new novel, "Fate," a romance built around one chance meeting between two people and how that meeting reshapes both of their lives. The book is out now through Newman Springs Publishing and is available at major retailers, including Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, and Barnes & Noble.

The story follows two characters whose paths cross unexpectedly, according to the announcement, setting off a relationship neither one saw coming. From there, the book traces how that single encounter ripples outward, testing the couple through what the announcement describes as life’s unpredictable challenges while they try to build something lasting without losing their individual sense of self.

Haynes has described the novel as an attempt to work through some of the bigger questions romance fiction tends to circle back to: what draws two particular people together, how a couple holds together under strain, and what it actually takes to build a life with someone else. "Through writing this story, I wanted to capture the essence of how love transforms us," Haynes said in the announcement. "Every relationship contains its own unique adventure, and I hope readers see their own experiences reflected in these pages."

No detailed author biography accompanied the release, so how "Fate" fits into any earlier work by Haynes isn’t clear from the material provided. The premise — a single fateful encounter reshaping two lives — sits within a long tradition in romance fiction of chance-meeting narratives, a structure readers of the genre will likely recognize.

For Studio CarryOnHarry, the interesting question with a book like this isn’t the plot, which follows a familiar romance template, but whether Haynes’s take on "transformation through connection" gives readers something more specific than the setup promises.

Read more People’s Choice stories on Studio CarryOnHarry. Reporting via Live News Vault.

Are you an author with a new release? We’re always looking for books to cover and authors to interview — tell us about yours here.

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New Novel “Uncharted Life” Follows a Bestselling Author Confronting His Father’s Murder Trial

H Johal

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New Novel “Uncharted Life” Follows a Bestselling Author Confronting His Father’s Murder Trial

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk

Theresa A. Bandaccari-Stephens has published a new novel, "Uncharted Life," a 310-page work centered on Daniel Carlson, a bestselling author whose career takes off just as his family collapses. According to the announcement, Daniel’s father is set to stand trial for murder, in a case tied to the death of Daniel’s mother and an attack that also targeted Daniel himself.

The book follows Daniel as he tries to rebuild after losing what the announcement describes as his greatest source of support, while also confronting his feelings for Lisa, a childhood friend who stayed close to him despite what the author describes as his neglect. The publisher frames the novel around themes of resilience, forgiveness, and self-discovery, and poses the question of whether Daniel can build a stable life while still processing trauma and reckoning with relationships he let slide.

"I wanted to tell a story about survival and the possibility of redemption," Bandaccari-Stephens said in the announcement. "Daniel’s journey reflects how we all must sometimes find our strength from within when those we love most are no longer present."

Bandaccari-Stephens lives in California with her husband, Michael, and their two cats and two dogs. Before this novel, she published two poetry anthology collections. According to the announcement, she draws on a range of professional experience and writes primarily about settings and situations she knows firsthand.

"Uncharted Life" is published through Newman Springs Publishing and is available in bookstores and through major online retailers including Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, and Barnes & Noble.

Studio CarryOnHarry will be watching to see how Bandaccari-Stephens’ move from poetry into long-form fiction is received, given that this marks her first novel-length work.

Read more People’s Choice stories on Studio CarryOnHarry. Reporting via Live News Vault.

Are you an author with a new release? We’re always looking for books to cover and authors to interview — tell us about yours here.

Press Releases at Studio CarryOnHarry

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