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An unflinching and stunning debut memoir of an Iranian girls coming-of-age experiencing abuse, war, and superstitionand her survival through an inner world into which she could escape When she was a child, Atash Yaghmaians home life was unpredictable: a confusing mix of love and terror. Outside of her home, Iran was also on fire. Her reality of abuse, war, gender oppression, and religious superstition left her feeling unsafe everywhere. So, she left reality and disassociated into a place she called the House of Stone: a building in a magical forest full of peaceful creatures, kind talking trees, and volcanoes. Inhabiting this world are 9 people, each different parts of Atash, who would be her salvation from the external horrors of her outer world. Set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeinis regime, and the 8-year Iran-Iraq War, My Name Means Fire is Atashs story of survival as she experiences tragic events including sexual abuse, a mother who subjected her to superstitious rituals, and the horrors of war. In chapters alternating with whats happening in her outside world, her other partseach named after a colortell the story of her inner world, giving readers an understanding of what its like to be inside the consciousness of someone who is multiple. Honest, powerful, and moving, My Name Means Fire is a bold narrative that challenges the stigma and misinformation around dissociative identity disorder (DID) and ultimately reckons with what it takes to survive.
An unflinching and stunning debut memoir of an Iranian girls coming-of-age experiencing abuse, war, and superstitionand her survival through an inner world into which she could escape
When she was a child, Atash Yaghmaians home life was unpredictable: a confusing mix of love and terror. Outside of her home, Iran was also on fire. Her reality of abuse, war, gender oppression, and religious superstition left her feeling unsafe everywhere. So, she left reality and disassociated into a place she called the House of Stone: a building in a magical forest full of peaceful creatures, kind talking trees, and volcanoes. Inhabiting this world are 9 people, each different parts of Atash, who would be her salvation from the external horrors of her outer world.
Set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeinis regime, and the 8-year Iran-Iraq War, My Name Means Fire is Atashs story of survival as she experiences tragic events including sexual abuse, a mother who subjected her to superstitious rituals, and the horrors of war. In chapters alternating with whats happening in her outside world, her other partseach named after a colortell the story of her inner world, giving readers an understanding of what its like to be inside the consciousness of someone who is multiple.
Honest, powerful, and moving, My Name Means Fire is a bold narrative that challenges the stigma and misinformation around dissociative identity disorder (DID) and ultimately reckons with what it takes to survive.