My Name Is Iran

by Davar Ardalan

Book Overview

A century of family tales from two beloved but divided homelands, Iran and America Drawing on her remarkable personal history, NPR producer Davar Ardalan brings us the lives of three generations of women and their ordeals with love, rejection, and revolution. Her American grandmother's love affair with an Iranian physician took her from New York to Iran in 1931. Ardalan herself moved from San Francsico to rural Iran in 1964 with her Iranian American...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805079203
• ISBN13: 9780805079203
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 323 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A book by a luminous soul

This autobiography is incandescent with the luminous spirit of the author. She is articulate and honest about the experiences and uncertainties she encountered in the journey of her own life to date. Look at the photographs in the book: she radiates intelligence, light, and compassion--and so do her words. The details of her Persian cultural legacy are fascinating, as are the dynamics of her supportive, closely knit family. The latter provides an example of how the values of immigrants can enrich the fabric of American society. If you are attuned to pick up the more subtle energies (so to speak) of spirit, this book will be quite rewarding for you.

Her Name Is Iran

From an American perspective, Iran is a far-off desert land filled with oil fields and industry. Iran's rich history dates back thousands of years nearly to the beginning of civilization. Yet, we know so little about Iranian lifestyles, cultures and religions. To many, their people and their lives are a mystery to us. Interested in learning more about the country once known as Persia? Let me suggest an excellent place to start. Born in the United States to Iranian parents, Davar Ardalan is the perfect tour guide to this part of the world. Her fascinating biography, `My Name is Iran' has both literal and figurative meaning. Her proper first name actually is `Iran.' What a fine ambassador she would make for either country. Davar's book chronicles her quest seeking a true and self-satisfying identity. Her complicated and tumultuous life has seen her morph between a modern American woman and a subservient Iranian willingly locked into an arranged marriage. Her book follows her long search for a place to comfortably rest her soul. Although the perspective is from a personal point of view, Davan's biography also serves as an authoritarian primer about life in Iran. She has adopted many, many places as her home. A very complicated and diverse life she has led. Davan comes from an enormous family that was very influential in the establishment of modern society in Iran. Several family members of her generation migrated to The United States in search of a richer life. All have experimented with lifestyles both traditional and modern. Some chose one; others chose both. Davan could not decide. As you read, you will understand how her deep heritage in the Middle East has altered the direction of her life. She seems nearly taunted by both sides of her fence. During most of her young adult years, Davan could not resolve where to go or how to ultimately live. You feel her struggle. Her understanding of both her cultures is so full. If she could only embrace one to call her own! 'My Name Is Iran' is filled with many studious footnotes further explaining the history and the stories behind the many people mentioned in her tales. The book is a masterwork. Not only is Davan a great student of her family's legacy and homeland, she shows sensitivity to her readers with in-depth explanations providing all the background you may need to understand her life in whole. Her tireless work has created a gem which may open her ancestral world to an audience otherwise blind to all of Iran's cultural wealth. It is an unusual and interesting read. This is not a dry and dusty history book. The tone is personal and passionate. Much is to be read about Davan's personal life: her two marriages (one to a second cousin,) her children, the beloved members of her family and all the things that bubble and cook in her pot of life. What a cast of characters are to be found in all her relatives! Follow her life as she matures from a young girl to a woman immersed in American culture.

Great Story

This is an amazing story about a fascinating family. As a first time writer it is a great effort, but I believe that the editors dropped the ball in a few places and that this could have been a better book.

A Woman's Journey to Iran and Back

At a time when tensions between the Muslim world and the United States are strained at best, it is good to see a book that talks of Iran in terms of life at an ordinary level. In this book, a woman returns to Iran where she was born in an attempt to live life as a traditional Muslim, wearing a chador and agreeing to an arranged marriage. Even more interesting is the fact that in so doing, she was following in the footsteps of her ancesters who had made a similar journey. In part this is the report on a personal journey, a coming of age book where her vision of an ancestral home was destroyed by the reality of life in a country rules not by law but by religious zealots who have literally the power of life and death. After this somewhat strange start on her life, Ms. Ardalan was able to return to this country, complete college and move on to a career in journalism. The book is written rather matter-of-factly but reading between the lines there is a lot about life in Iran, in the Muslim world and brings a better understanding of what the world is all about.

A MUST READ!!

This book does much to bridge the gap between Iran and America bringing together three generations of women living between the cultures, each achieving notoriety in their respective careers; one a nurse, one a theologian and one a journalist. The men are equally as accomplished and obviously unequipped to relate to such powerful women. This book is a great read and should be used for classrooms from high school to college as it avoids the modern tendency to sensationalize the intimate relationships instead preferring to rely on the reader's intelligence and ability to understand the more mature issues. Ms. Ardalan is a first time author and the most recent in a long line of story tellers - I look forward to more.