Home is where your heart is, so the old saying goes. But what if, by virtue of fate and war, your heart is divided between a pair of cities in countries separated by oceans, continents and cultures? This is the question author Salma Abdelnour ponders with absorbing style and wistful grace in her new book, "Jasmine and Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut."

Born in the States to Lebanese parents, then raised while young in Beirut before civil war forced her family to return to America, Abdelnour always felt slightly out of place as a child in Houston, a student in Berkeley, and an adult in New York. Nonetheless, she forged an admirable career as a writer and editor in New York, including stints as travel editor of "Food & Wine" magazine, food editor of "O, The Oprah Magazine," and restaurant editor of "Time Out New York." Her writing has been featured in publications such as the "New York Times," "Food & Wine," "Travel + Leisure," and "ForbesLife," and she has appeared on travel and food segments for CNN, CNBC, and the Fine Living Network. And yet all the while, a piece of her heart always tugged at her from Lebanon. It made her wonder what she would feel if she were to leave New York and return to Beirut decades after her family fled the war -- not to return for a week or two as she had visiting family on vacations past, but to return to one of the world's most unpredictable cities and live there for an entire year. Would Beirut feel like the home, wherever and whatever that may be, from which she felt somewhat unmoored since she was a girl? Or would the incessantly chaotic but undeniably fascinating city be only a capricious Lothario unworthy of permanently harboring her heart? With the considerable courage required for an unmarried woman in her late thirties to live alone in a society long dominated by unrepentant male chauvinism, Abdelnour packed her bags and committed to a year of living, if not dangerously, at least cautiously, in Beirut between the summers of 2010 and 2011.

With eloquence, passion and a sharp eye for detail, Abdelnour explores the joys and turmoils of looking for home. "Jasmine and Fire" will certainly please fans of expert travel writing. True to the author's calling as a committed foodie, "Jasmine and Fire" will gratify food aficionados too -- at the book's end readers will discover classic recipes for a dozen tantalizing Middle Eastern dishes. Like the adventures and food she describes so intimately, "Jasmine and Fire" is a read worth savoring.