In recent days, I have been blessed by the encouragement of two wonderful writers. Today’s post is about Firoozeh Dumas’ wonderful work.

When I first heard Firoozeh interviewed about Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America a few years ago, I pulled my car off the road and parked to listen to her.  Like me, Firoozeh was raised in suburban California and felt like an outsider.  I hadn’t yet committed to writing my own story, but remeber feeling so inspired by her humor and her candor.

I just finisher her most recent book, Laughing Without an Accent: Adventures of an Iranian American at Home and Abroad.  It was just the book I needed to rescue me from this dreary political season.  Dumas finds the funny in expected, often uncomfortable, spaces in American life.  Her shimmering insights reveal the depth of our shared humanity and our struggles to recognize it.

I’ve read these essays waiting for the school bell to ring, in bed, at lunch, and in my office.  No matter where I’ve been, I’ve laughed out loud, and smiled at the end of every one.  Whenever I’ve pulled myself away from this book, I plot my return and look forward to my next encounter with Dumas’ wit.

Writing long essays is often easier than writing short ones, because an author has forces herself to make fewer choices.  Her spare but well-crafted essays awed me as an author.

Thanks to a mutual friend, I had the chance to speak with Firoozeh on the phone.  She was as wonderful in person as her words were on the page.

If you’ve never read her work, don’t deny yourself the pleasure.