The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Hadero, Meron. A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times. New York: Restless Books, 2022.

A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times is a collection of 15 short stories by Meron Hadero.

In “The Suitcase,” a young woman named Saba is visiting relatives in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. She was born there, but feels incapable of assimilating on this visit. As she prepares to leave, her family members attempt to fit all of the items they wish her to bring to their relatives in the U.S. into her suitcase. Since all of the items will not fit, Saba empties her other suitcase of her own possessions and leaves them behind.

In “The Wall,” an unnamed narrator immigrates to the U.S. from Ethiopia as a child in the 1980s. At a potluck meal, the narrator meets Herr Weill, a man who fled Germany for the U.S. during the Holocaust. The narrator lived briefly in Berlin, and he speaks German but not English. Herr Weill offers to teach him English and the two develop a friendship during their language lessons, discussing both of their experiences living in Germany. Once the narrator is fluent in English, he begins to spend more time with his peers and less time with Herr Weill. His family moves to another town. When the Berlin Wall comes down, the narrator visits Herr Weill, but he is not home.

In “The Street Sweep,” an 18-year-old man named Getu living in Addis Ababa and working as a street sweeper develops a rapport with a man he calls Mr. Jeff, who works for a nonprofit organization providing aid in Ethiopia. Mr. Jeff asks Getu his opinions about how his neighborhood might be improved, and remarks, “[W]e could use a man like you in our organization” (45). Getu believes this means Mr. Jeff will give him a job at the nonprofit, and he attends a party in his honor at the Sheraton Hotel. There, Mr. Jeff tells Getu he has misunderstood. Getu collects business cards from other nonprofit employees, and at the end of the story he uses one of these cards to pass himself off as one of these employees to get past the guards at the hotel. This demonstrates that he has learned practices of deception from his experience with the nonprofit, just as these organizations deceive Ethiopians into believing their aid will make a genuine difference in the country.

In “Mekonnen aka Mack aka Huey Freakin' Newton,” a narrator named Mekonnen immigrates to New York City from Ethiopia in the 1980s. Upon arrival, his parents do not understand race relations in the U.S., nor do Mekonnen's white school friends. He falls in with a neighborhood group of Black activists called the African American All-Stars. This group teaches him about Black history and culture from an American perspective, and it helps him develop a sense of pride despite the atmosphere of racism permeating the city at this time.

In “The Thief's Tale,” an older Ethiopian man visiting his daughter in New York City gets lost and ends up in a park, where he is approached by a thief. The thief recognizes that the man cannot speak English, and he holds up a knife and his own wallet. The old man pretends not to understand that the thief is demanding his wallet, and helplessly gestures that he needs to find a phone. The thief helps the old man find the phone and then waits with him until the old man's daughter arrives. While waiting, the old man steals the thief's wallet using sleight of hand.

In “Kind Stranger,” a narrator visits Addis Ababa and encounters a man lying in the street. The man, Gedeyon, tells the narrator about his experience during the period of military rule in Ethiopia known as the Derg. When he was arrested and tortured as a college student by members of the military junta, Gedeyon gave them the name of a woman who declined to go on a date with him, Marta, claiming she was a dissident. Years later, he saw this woman in the street. She did not recognize him, and they conversed about her life since she was imprisoned by the Derg. When Marta tripped and fell forward into traffic, Gedeyon, bitter that she did not recognize him, did not reach out to help her. She was killed by a passing car. Gedeyon claims to feel no guilt.

In “Medallion,” an Ethiopian immigrant named Yohannes arrives in Los Angeles to study engineering on a scholarship. He is picked up at the airport by a cab driver named Bobby, who tells Yohannes that driving a cab is the only way for a Black person to have autonomy in America. He offers to let Yohannes drive his cab sometimes to earn pocket money. Yohannes initially declines, but when his scholarship money is reduced, he takes Bobby up on the offer. Bobby convinces Yohannes he should get a medallion cab driving license, claiming he can set aside some of Yohannes' earnings for him to pay for it. When Yohannes has earned the $5,000 for the license, Bobby stops returning his calls. He goes to the airport to find Bobby, and Bobby pretends that he was going to call Yohannes soon. He tells Yohannes that getting the medallion will be his means of achieving the American Dream.

In “Sinkholes,” an unnamed narrator sits through a high school classroom discussion in which the teacher asks the students to write racial slurs on the blackboard. The only Black student in the class, it becomes clear to the narrator that their classmates and teacher are waiting for them to write the n-word. The teacher claims this word has no power, but the narrator insists that the other students' refusal to write the word demonstrates its immense power.

In “The Case of the Missing...” a newspaper called The Exile Gazeta writes about a missing autocratic leader from an unnamed country. The leader went missing after he was heckled by a dissident, demonstrating that the voice of one activist can potentially bring down a despotic regime.

In “The Life and Times of the Little Manuscript & Anonymous,” a manuscript is published in an autocratic country that the regime in power believes reflects favorably on them. However, the manuscript also becomes beloved by the common people in a way that the regime finds threatening. Meanwhile, a journalist named Ephraim reflects on the honesty exhibited in the manuscript and decides to write an article decrying the fixed elections in this same country. After writing this, he goes into hiding, as he knows he will be punished by the regime.

In “The Elders,” the older members of an Ethiopian community in Texas decide whether to bury their friend, called Engineer Paulos, in Texas, or to send his body back to Ethiopia. Paulos was murdered in a racially-motivated hate crime, and some of the elders argue that he should be sent back to his native country because this crime proves that America is racist. Others argue that Paulos chose to live in America and was a devoted, patriotic citizen. They ultimately agree that being buried in America is what Paulos would have wanted.

In “The Drought That Drowned Us,” a village in Africa is beset by drought, causing the villagers to leave their home and travel north. They meet a man who asks them to sign a contract that they are unable to read — selling them into slavery. The man puts the villagers on a boat in the ocean, and all die over the course of the journey, except for one named Deborah. When the boat reaches the shore, the police are waiting to intercept it. The helmsman pushes Deborah overboard and she drowns.

In “A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times,” two Ethiopian immigrants named Jazarah and Yeshi buy a cookbook and learn how to prepare American cuisine as a way of assimilating. Years later, they cook for their New York City community during difficult times, like 9/11 and the 2008 recession. They open a food truck, which becomes immensely popular. Over the years, roots grow around the food truck's tires, as it is never moved, just like the roots Jazarah and Yeshi have planted in America.

“Preludes” centers around a diverse community in Seattle, home to many Ethiopian immigrants. One man moves away while a new family arrives. A woman waits for the arrival of her brother from Ethiopia. Two roommates discuss the Derg. Another woman considers writing an advice book for new immigrants.

In “Swearing In, January 20, 2009,” an immigrant, presumably Ethiopian, recalls witnessing the inauguration of President Barack Obama, a momentous occasion as he was the first Black president of the United States. The narrator expresses his belief that immigrants are often more patriotic than other citizens and reflects on the optimism he felt that day.