The Commiserator

The Commiserator (in Persian)

A book about coping with incomprehensible grief
In 1998, I lost my brother to a car accident on the other side of the globe. Not having “closure”, it took me two years to resume a normal life! Books helped a lot, and I read everything I could about the topic. The experience made me think of the numerous other Iranian immigrants who go down such a dark road. Unfortunately, for many, their limited knowledge of English makes it hard to benefit from the available books. I remembered a favorite quote from Toni Morrison, “If there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”

So, I wrote my stories and experiences in a small book titled Shareek-e-Gham (in Persian, it means “sharing your sorrow” or, simply put, “The Commiserator”!) The text was edited by the late Professor Mehdi Forough – and he wrote the Foreword for it as well. I published it in 2000 through an independent publisher in Los Angeles, Zax Publishing. To this day, it has helped many Iranians cope with grief and I am proud to know that some Iranian-American analysts recommend it to their patients.

This book can be purchased from Ketab Book Corporation or please contact me directly to order.

More books by Zoe

Memory Garden

The Memory Garden

Sky of Red Poppies

Sky of Red Poppies

The Moon Daughter

The Moon Daughter