Blog
Persian Rugs: A Birthday Blog
Like a rug maker, I’ve known both pain and beauty in weaving together the different pieces of my life. Childhood trauma dispersed my memories, making it hard for me to be sure of what had happened. So my first task was to learn how to tell my own story, through writing and speaking, and in doing so, to tie together these tatters of memory.
A Doctor’s Note
When I was a teenager, my mother and stepfather became obsessed with my virginity. I was sexually abused as a child, so I hadn’t been a virgin for a long time, but no one wanted to talk about that. They wanted to talk instead about the boys they insisted I flirted with — most of all, Reza — all of whom I’d done absolutely nothing with. But my parents’ suspicions only increased.
Meha
I didn’t expect that meeting Meha was going to keep me up at night, but it did. In my dreams, those days, I was always on a boat in the middle of a dark ocean, when a bigger boat, full of male guards, stopped mine to arrest me and take me back to my family, who had paid for my abduction. I woke up screaming in my bed, night after night. It wasn’t Meha’s fault, of course…
The Hustler
I’m really good at ping pong. Or at least, I used to be. Lately, a lot of people have been beating me, again and again. I take it as a sign of my progress. Let me explain. When you are a homeless, undocumented immigrant, you need to be resourceful. Never knowing where your next meal will come from heightens your sense of survival.
I Ran from Iran
It wasn’t easy to find the right Ali Mohamedian on Facebook. That name is about as common in Persian as “John Smith” is in English. But I was determined to make amends, after all these years. And to thank the man who was responsible for getting me out of Iran. “Atash, is that really you?”
I Can Fly
My curiosity with hypnotherapy began when I was a nanny during my first year of college in the United States. When the kids were asleep, I would watch T.V. to try to improve my English. One day, I saw a talk show about a woman who could heal people through hypnosis. “That’s magic!” I said out loud. “I want to do that.”
Painproof
Recently, I’ve hit a thick wall. I’ve been dealing with some health issues and have had no choice but to take a break. I work five days a week with teens at a high school and, on Saturdays and weeknights, with adults in my private practice. I don’t take a sick day unless it’s physically impossible for me to stand up. If there is a holiday, I leave the country to explore wildlife, hike, dive, or learn about a new culture. It’s all great, except that there are no pauses.
