Farah has climbed to the top of her career. The first female chief of obstetricians and gynaecology at Mount Sinai she has worked incredibly hard and made a countless number of sacrifices to get here. And yet she is not happy. Her divorce has come through and with both her kids off at collage she should be embracing her freedom but she can’t. Memories from her childhood in Iran before and during the war which she has tried to burry resurface as the Woman, Life, Freedom movement begins to gain traction. If the past won’t stay locked up she is going to have to confront it.
This was a multifaceted story tackling everything from gender identity and rights to geopolitics and family dynamics. Spanning decades this story of reflection and healing for one woman and her family. I really enjoyed how well @pariahassouri blended the global topics, like war, and showed the real life implications on the individual level and how long their effects can last. This wonderful book hits shelves August 15, 2025. Thank you to @netgalley and @koehlerbookspub for letting me have an advanced to review.
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Paria Hassouri has written a highly readable book set in a dual time line between two present day locations - New York city and Paso Robles, and our main characters' childhood in Tehran. This highly readable part memoir, part fiction has great plot and pacing and easily moves our main character through her current day life changes in a beautifully written Paso Robles setting, but - we are really exploring the protagonists' childhood in Tehran and the grief she has carried. A beautiful friendship anchors our protaganist as she explores her past and present. Highly recommend this book. If you like Marjan Kamali's, Lion Women of Tehran, you will love Harvesting Rosewater.

Thank you netgalley and Koehler Books for this advance eARC. I really enjoyed this novel! The protagonist is in her early 50s, navigating a whole lot of life changes including divorce, a child's transition, childhood trauma burbling back up with current events (2023) in Iran, and re-imagining her career as chief OBGYN at a big time hospital in NYC.
It sounds like a lot, but it all pulls together well and the main character Farah is very compelling. It's easy to see that the author pulled from her own experience as a doctor and I really enjoyed the relationships - siblings, family, and good friends.

As an Iranian American myself, I really liked the representation in this novel. It felt real in the sense that we as a community weren't stereotyped or played up to certain narratives about Iran and Iranian Americans. It's also interesting to read about the main character's perspective on the Mahsa Amini protests and how her own past fueled her reaction to what was happening in the homeland.

However, I did find the novel had some pacing issues, and about 40% in it began to feel like a drag to get through. I was invested in the main character, but the bouncing around timelines was not working personally for me as a reader in this particular novel.

Highly recommend this novel—it's a powerful blend of an Eat, Pray, Love journey and the deeply personal story of an Iranian gynecologist confronting her past and long-buried emotions.

Set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, the narrative seamlessly bridges the historical with the present events surrounding Mahsa Amini and current women's movement.

As someone who left Iran as a teenager, I found the story incredibly relatable. The vivid descriptions—of side street foods, dual-language schools, and everyday life—brought my own memories flooding back, and it was surreal.

This beautifully written novel offers something for everyone. It’s engaging, thought-provoking, and lingers in your mind long after you’ve turned the last page.


Thank you to #Netgalley and #Koehlers for this ARC