Book Talk: Sarah Ignatius Presents Her Newly Released The Kaleidoscope of Destiny at Haley Art Gallery

 
Kittery, Maine – September 14, 2026 – Haley Art Gallery will host a book conversation with moderator Judy Saryan and author Sarah Ignatius on her newly released book The Kaleidoscope of Destiny (Koehler Books 2026), on September 26, starting at 2 pm. Autographed books will be available to purchase. Space is limited. Register via email at haleygallery@comcast.net.
 
Set in 1915, The Kaleidoscope of Destiny is the story of the fourteen-year-old Arakel who dreams of traveling the Silk Road with his two best friends, one a Turk and the other an Armenian. Arakel and his family are among the forcibly exiled Armenian population driven into the desert amidst the Armenian Genocide. To survive, Arakel must reach out to Arab camel drivers, Bedouins, Germans, Turks, Kurds, even a wandering dervish, all considered his enemies. His dilemma is whether he can trust them and ultimately, the novel reaffirms our collective humanity, even in the darkest of times.
 
The Kirkus Book Review praised The Kaleidoscope of Destiny describing: “This moving account of the Armenian genocide…deserves a place on classroom bookshelves and on reading lists next to Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl….A beautiful and poignant novel that humanizes the Armenian genocide for a contemporary audience.”

As a human rights lawyer and a nonprofit executive, Sarah Ignatius taught immigration and asylum law at Boston College Law School for several years, co-authored Immigration Law and the Family, and most recently directed the National Association for Armenian Studies and
Research in Belmont, MA. Recognized by the New England Society of Children’s Books Writers & Illustrators, the National League of American Pen Women, and the Glimmer Train, Ignatius was selected as a Somerville Arts Council Literature Artist Fellow. A graduate of Stanford University and Georgetown University Law Center, she is half Armenian and currently lives in Somerville, MA with her family.
 
Haley Art Gallery is open Thursdays to Saturdays from 11 am to 6 pm. The current exhibit, Tapestry of Perspectives, features work by Rachel de Almeida, Jozimar Matimano, and Yuhuei Pierce. The exhibit will remain on view through October 24.