Today we’d like to introduce you to Zoe (Zohreh) Ghahremani.
So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Growing up in Iran, the poetic land of Rumi, Khayyam, and Hafez, I dreamt of being a writer and a poet. But as often happens, most of us followed the path our families set before us. In my case, the youngest of seven in a highly scientific family, before I knew it, I had become a dentist instead and had graduated from the University of London in pediatric dentistry!
For twenty years, I enjoyed teaching at Northwestern University Dental School and also ran my private practice in a Chicago suburb. Although I worked with all the love one can put into doing procedures that most people dread, I never lost track of my creative dreams and managed to steal enough time from work and family to write or paint.
One day, as I was driving to work, at the peak of my success as a dentist, I heard a phrase on the radio that changed everything, “If there is something you have always wanted to do, do it!” I suddenly realized that although my education those decades ago had not been by choice, at this point my career could be. Questions began to mount in my head. Why had I not devoted my life to doing what I loved the most? Why were we living in freezing Chicago one long winter after another? The more I thought, the clearer it became that I had a choice and could live the rest of my life the way I had always wished to live: writing in the California sunshine.
I ran an ad for the sale of my practice, which had reached close to 5,000 patients, it sold in no time. Meanwhile, Northwestern University announced that in the year 2,000, they would be ending their dental school. Everything came together, as though destiny was guiding me through this huge milestone in my life.
My husband, whose job meant everything to him, supported the idea as he had no trouble relocating to the medical school at UCSD. Before I knew it, I had made a huge U-turn. The unhappy dentist of frozen Chicago turned into an accomplished author in beautiful San Diego!
Has it been a smooth road?
As I mentioned, I kept on writing all along, but I left out the small but important detail that my work had so far been exclusively in my native language, Persian! I was writing a book based on a true story from Iran, but I wanted it to be in English so that my American children could read their mother’s work. I wanted to answer their questions about my homeland. Why did we leave Iran? Why did we never go back to visit? And, above all, if our homeland was as wonderful as we describe it, why was there a Revolution?
At first, switching languages seemed easy, but I soon learned that being fluent in conversational English didn’t automatically qualify me to write well. In literature, there are fundamental differences between the two languages and I would have to first learn those.
I took creative writing courses, joined writers’ organizations, attended writers’ conferences. I read more books than before and worked nonstop. My first novel Sky of Red Poppies would walk my children through the places where their parents had grown up and it would shed light on some of the dark corners that they had never seen. I knew my family and friends would read it and that sounded good enough. Little did I know that thousands of readers nationwide had similar questions and would embrace my work. In 2012, KPBS along with the San Diego Central Library and SDSU selected it to be a One Book, One San Diego! This is a program supported by numerous libraries and community events, encouraging the entire city to read a selected book. Soon, the citywide interest put me on a pedestal and gave me the elation I had never imagined.
When I released my second novel The Moon Daughter, I worried that it might disappoint my readers, but to my delight, that, too, met their strong support. It received first place from the San Diego Book Award Association and last year the Writer Digest awarded it the winner for fiction nationwide.
I spent much of my time painting, as well. (The covers of both books are borrowed from my personal work.) But one of the most fulfilling aspects of this adventure has been my journey into public speaking. My books took me to more than 200 book clubs and invited me as a speaker to dozens of social gatherings. I also spoke at universities around the country and a few conferences as well as on radio and television. I gladly left my isolated work area to embrace my community.
The fact that I had achieved my biggest goal at an age when most people give up theirs seems to empower people my age. Senior centers and their social clubs welcomed me. At the same time, perhaps because my novels involve young characters and my story goes back to when I was a student, it gives the younger audience hope and teaches them to never give up on their dreams. I have visited many local high schools and colleges, but I am most proud of my talks (on three separate occasions) at the San Diego Juvenile Detention Center. That my stories and my heartfelt thoughts resonate with such a wide audience and opens their minds in any way is the biggest achievement of my life. When I write, the words come from my heart and the true reward for such open communication is when those words settle into that of the readers.
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
I live to write, be it essays, poetry, blogs, or novels. Hard at work on my next novel, these days I can only go as far as sending an uplifting message on Facebook or Twitter to my readers. I also spend a lot of my free time on paving the road for other writers and am the proud organizer of Author of The Month program at the San Diego Central Library, whereby we invite one local author each month to present their book.
Every writer has a set of goals and ideas, however, one of the rules I learned along the way was. “Write what you knew best.” I make sure I follow that rule and have never changed what I wished to write simply to meet the market demands.
We live in a time of conflict, an era when more than ever, politics tends to demonize a nation. I wasn’t sure if readers cared to learn more about Iranians, let alone enjoy what they would learn. However, like most writers, I had stories to tell and needed to do so honestly. In my books, you meet the good and the bad, rich and poor, religious and nonbeliever, rich and poor. No one is pure evil or entirely angelic, so I leave it up to the reader to select whom to like and what to believe.
What makes me most proud of my work is that I have depicted the true nature of ordinary Iranians and presented real people. We live in a very small world and are similar in many ways. From the feedback I continue to receive, readers connect with some of my characters, feel what they feel and as different as their lives may have been, they have experienced some of the same emotions. To me, this is a step toward peace. If only we could see how alike we are, there would be no prejudice, no racism, and no wars.
I continue to enjoy the works of numerous Iranian authors and consider many of the post-Revolutionary novels outstanding. Most of these novels are based on personal experiences and through them we learn about the atrocities that some Iranians have endured over the recent decades. However, most novels contain a hidden message that lead the reader one way or another. While I, too, am Iranian, what sets my novels apart may be how different my experience has been from the common narrative.
I left Iran nearly a decade prior to the Islamic Revolution and had to do extensive research to learn some of the history. I aim to tell the story of those who would not pick up the pen to write theirs. My forthcoming novel, for example, focuses exclusively on the lives of the servant class. These stories are far more fascinating than what I have experienced and the world needs to hear them before they hide beneath the dust of time. They are far more fascinating than what I have experienced.
How do you, personally, define success? What’s your criteria, the markers you’re looking out for, etc?
Success is when you have achieved your goal and have reached the point you had hoped to reach. This may be money to a businessman/woman, fame to a performer, and power to a ruler. For me, success is in knowing that my words have reached the hearts of my readers. Someone once asked me, “Why do you think your books became so popular?” To which I responded by translating a verse from Sa’adi, the 13th-century Iranian poet, “A word that rises from one heart, has no choice but to land in another.”
I will forever be writing from the heart and hope to maintain this beautiful connection with my readers. At the moment, I am putting the finishing touches on my next novel The Basement. If as they say, a book is like a child of the author, I pray for this one to meet the same level of support as the other two already have.
Do you feel like our city is a good place for businesses like yours? If someone was just starting out, would you recommend them starting out here? If not, what can our city do to improve?
San Diego is any writer’s dream city. Our writing community is stronger than most people know and there is no shortage of classes and courses here. We enjoy one of the best 12 downtown city libraries in the country and their activities continue to educate us. Thanks to our Union-Tribune, San Diego now has its own annual book festival and its writers’ community has also started the most successful Annual Writers’Festival. Owing to my success in this loving city, I try to give back by teaching, organizing workshops and volunteering. This city selected the work of an unknown author with an unpronounceable name for their citywide read, and they continue to invite me as their speaker, regardless of my accent!
In addition, in the year 2014, more than 30,000 girl scouts of San Diego honored me with an Award for being that year’s Cool Woman! How can I not be in Heaven?
Pricing:
- My books retail for standard paperback prices ($15.00) I love seeing them on the shelves of San Diego’s independent bookstores as well as our wonderful libraries. My speaking fees are tailored to organization budgets. For me being among readers and feeling their love and support is priceless.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zoeghahremani.com
- Phone: 858-336-7020
- Email: alazoe@gmail.com
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