In her gorgeous and healing cookbook Ripe Figs, British food writer and human rights campaigner Yasmin Khan asserts, "There is no better place to talk than at the dinner table." For Khan, who grew up in a home where Iranian refugees found a safe place at her parents' table, an essential part of that conversation includes the ongoing Eastern Mediterranean refugee crisis, which prompted her to write this book. Khan presents striking photographs of the dishes and people she encounters on her travels alongside nourishing, accessible recipes, such as iconic Turkish spiced tomato scramble and cheerful "sunshine salad" showcasing Cyprus's late-summer produce. Each recipe is accompanied by a story, offering an intimate glimpse at Khan's triumphs and struggles as she searches for comfort in a time of chaos. --Angela Lutz, freelance reviewer