Goodreads asked Bridget Hodder:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Bridget Hodder It's hard being part of a group that most people don't understand. I am Sephardic, belonging to a Jewish group that is extremely rare all over the world. Most people have not even heard of us. Our culture and traditional language incorporates a great deal of Spanish and Arabic influence, and reflects many centuries of dwelling in Muslim countries. Thus, even other Jews often do not know who we are--resulting in an honest miscalculation that somehow Sephardim are "not really Jewish"-- because we don't know the culturally dominant Yiddish or Ashkenazic culture. In my heart, I have wanted so long for the Sephardim to be seen and understood, and this is why I joined with my co-author, Fawzia Gilani Williams, to write THE BUTTON BOX. Fawzia feels the same as I do, but from a Muslim perspective. Her family was forced to flee their home during Partition in India, she grew up in England, and she is an educator in the UAE. We know our faiths and cultures have often been historical allies. By telling the dual stories within THE BUTTON BOX, we hope to open hearts to the facts of history that many have forgotten.

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