By Yvonne Greenberg
LA JOLLA, California– In her new book, Life As A Visitor, Angella Nazarian, a Jew, recounts leaving her native land of Iran at age eleven with her mother and older sister to visit her two brothers in Los Angeles for presumably a two-week visit because of the violent 1979 Iranian Revolution. Because of the escalation of violence, her parents decided it was too dangerous for Angella and her sister to return (in fact, she has never returned to Iran) but her mother felt compelled to go back to Iran to liquidate the family’s assets.
However, a short time later, the Iran/Iraq War broke out, and both parents were stuck in Iran for five years. Her parents were finally smuggled out of the country, but ended up penniless on the streets of Karachi. Pakistan. It took six months, but they finally made it to the United States, and received political asylum with the help of the Jewish Federation.
Nazarian understandably missed her mother during their five years’ of separation, although she received loving care from her family living in Los Angeles. She did remarkably well scholastically and socially. In all grades she was always helping fellow students when they asked the smart, pretty girl for help. Yet, she still felt a void in her life, which wasn’t filled until years later, when she met her future husband, who came from a renowned Jewish Persian family and she had her first baby. She describes in beautiful detail her feelings towards the baby when it was first handed to her in the hospital.
Life As A Visitor tells her story in captivating prose and poetry and vividly describes her inner struggle in search of home, family, and a sense of belonging. It is the coming of age story of a young woman caught between two vastly different cultures who must deal with the horrors back home at the same time she adapts to life in Los Angeles and the United States, with all that entails, including going to Disneyland and Universal Studios and eating a McDonald’s hamburger. The book includes photographs of her family and world travels (which she took), as well as gorgeous artwork (e.g., paintings).
Nazarian will be speaking about her book on Tuesday, November 9th, at 12 noon at The Lawrence Family JCC as part of the San Diego Jewish Book Fair. Admission for the talk (with lunch included) is $14.00 for JCC members and $17.00 for non-members A book signing will follow her talk.
which is co-sponsored by Hadassah.
Nazarian earned her graduate degree (Summa Cum Laude) in Industrial//Organizational Psychology from Long Beach State. Over the next 11 years she was a professor of psychology and faculty member at Mount St. Mary’s College, Long Beach State, and Los Angeles Valley College. She is currently conducting private workshops and seminars on topics related to personal development and growth for adults.
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Greenberg is a freelance writer