A powerful collection of personal essays on displacement, being
different and living between two worlds, told with humor and
self-reflection.
Based on Ghazaleh Golbakhsh's experience as an Iranian immigrant growing
up in New Zealand, these essays range from a childhood in war-torn Iran,
including the trauma of a night spent in prison as a six-year-old, to
learning English so she could make friends, to dating in the days of
Corona. This is about growing up as a young woman torn between her
immigrant roots and her desire to be like everyone else.
The humor is sometimes offset with the more somber reminder of the
racism that has always existed in this country, from misguided quips to
more serious stories of harassment. The impact of recent world events
shows that, more than ever, marginalized voices are needed in our
cultural discourse.