Pages: 198
Finished: March 2008
First Sentence: "When I was seven, my parents, my fourteen-year-old brother, Farsid, and I moved from Abadan, Iran to Whittier California."
Last Sentence: "I won the jackpot with that story."
This was a charming, gentle memoir of the author's experiences growing up Iranian in America. She keeps the story light, especially in the beginning, as the first time the family came to America it was for only 2 years, in 1972, way before the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Life for them in America was, at the time friendly. They were a novelty as there weren't many Iranians in America then and many Americans didn't even know where Iran was! When they returned to America, Firoozeh was in 6th grade and things were different--this was on the cusp of the crisis. After the hostage crisis, they realized that they had lost everything in Iran--and her father's pension from the oil company which had employed him, was worth nothing.
Yet, this family retained their feisty, thankful, spirit and her memoir never dips into self pity. No, quite the opposite. Her family became quite proud Americans and never take the freedom they have found in this country for granted.
Each chapter was a separate story or event, and each one brought me to laughter--often times reading a chapter out loud to my family. I am thrilled to see that another book by this author is due out soon!
Definitely a book worth reading -especially if you like memoirs.
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