family history

stumbling into genealogy

ever since i was a child, i’ve found myself sitting by the feet of family members as they transmit tales of personal and collective histories.

i’ve begun preserving my family’s ancestry data as it primarily lives purely within the memories of our elders.

as part of the first generation to be born outside Iran, i am well aware that our genealogical data has minimal documentation.

i’m also engaged in multiple storytelling projects to protect the wisdom that is passed on orally.

cover art created by my talented husband, Parham Kavoosi

“the making of a شیرزن
shirzan: a lioness”

ongoing project: 2019-present

narrative ethnography where i examine the role women in my family have played in sustaining life

family recipes + stories + photos are compiled into a creative non-fiction piece that preserves folk knowledge to help bridge generations

i was deeply inspired by Laura Esquivel’s creative structure in her 1989 novel Like Water for Chocolate

so far, i’ve written 7 chapters on 7 women using 7 recipes
from multiple generations on both sides of my ancestry

how we ‘find’ children

past project: 2019

in this project, i weaved together topics that i find hauntingly curious:

women’s embodied knowledge,
the westernization of Iran,
gender roles in child bearing and child rearing,
and immigration.

i collected first-hand accounts from family members across generations, socio-economic status, and geographic contexts.

i compiled these stories within a place-based, historical timeline of major events in Iran’s modern history of foreign involvement.

i compiled and re-told these stories through creative non-fiction writing.