And Sometimes Why: An Iranian Girl's Coming of Age Post Revolution and Exile (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780578782850)

Inspired by true events, in 1979, 8-year-old Miryam's world collapses when the government executes her friend Ari's father, marking the beginning of the Iranian Revolution and the end of her childhood innocence. Hoping to escape political persecution, Ari joins Miryam's family when they migrate to Los Angeles.

Her parents return to Iran, leaving Miryam and Ari to raise her two younger brothers in a real-and dangerous-game of house. Miryam sacrifices her teenage years for her family, with Ari as her unrequited love interest and her only ally.

Years later, following a short visit to Iran, Miryam's parents force her and her brothers to stay. A now-Westernized young woman in a socially repressed country suddenly stripped of her adult roles, Miryam's world becomes a never-ending party laden with black-market alcohol and superficial friendships. Torn between love and duty, Miryam spirals into a self-inflicted prison of self destruction.

After tragedy strikes, will Miryam ultimately face her demons, uncover buried truths and heal the wounds from her past? Will she finally find home?

Wickedly funny and devastatingly heartbreaking, And Sometimes Why is the extraordinary coming-of-age story of a young girl's journey to survive two opposing worlds, while tackling prejudice, addiction, hypocrisy, and the many unanswerable whys of life.