Quilting a Family Album

By Shahrnaz Mortazavi

These writings belong to me, an Iranian woman. A few of my memories are like a mixture of dirty scratches, and others like the reflection of sunlight in the lofty snow-covered mountains of Iran. These memories are interwoven with cultural traditions, norms and values..... So begins Shahrnaz (Saba) Mortazavi's very personal narrative of life in Iran as chronicled in Quilting a Family Album. The book describes in detail her life in Iran from early childhood through 30 years as a social and cross cultural psychologist at an Iranian university. During those years, Saba lived in Tabriz and Tehran, and also in Switzerland and Germany. Some of the themes covered in Saba's description of her daily life in Iran are: >examples of Iranian hospitality to friends but not to strangers, >at funerals, forced crying and women eating men's leftovers, >car driving habits being more western than eastern, >importance of family interconnectedness, >explanation of Tarbiat, cultural etiquettes and customs, >how Haya, shame, is used with Iranian children, >sharing of private information in families, collectives, >forced marriages due to fatherly agreements, >social custom against girls' wearing glasses, and >life in Iran during the Islamist revolution and the Iran-Iraq war. Saba's highly personal, emotional and loving involvement in these experiences grabs the reader who walks with Saba through her daily life in Iran.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 147912947X
• ISBN13: 9781479129478
• Release Date: August 2012
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.3" x 6.0"