As the first female chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Mount Sinai, Farah Afshar is struggling with the demands of her job while adjusting to her newly divorced and empty-nester status. When the pretext of improper hijab leads to the arrest and death of Mahsa Amini, a global awareness of women's fight for freedom in Iran ensues, triggering memories of the Islamic Revolution and Iran-Iraq War that Farah has held for forty years-along with a secret she has never shared with anyone.

Bombarded by the heightened momentum of the Women, Life, Freedom movement and threatened by a malpractice lawsuit, Farah's life begins to unravel. Will escaping to wine country for a period of solitude and self-discovery be the answer, or is her only hope for moving forward-with her children, her career, and herself-sharing her truth with everyone? Most importantly, can they forgive her once they know what she did?

Moving between Manhattan, Tehran, and Paso Robles, Harvesting Rosewater explores how our unresolved histories infiltrate our adult lives, disrupting our search for identity, with the weight of living a dual existence ultimately confronting us in midlife.

Paria Hassouri is an author and pediatrician whose personal essays have been published by The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and the Huffington Post. Her memoir, Found in Transition: A Mother's Evolution During Her Child's Gender Change, was published in 2020. She has presented stories on stage through Expressing Motherhood, been featured in numerous podcasts and articles, participated in many speaking engagements, and taught writing and advocacy classes to UCLA primary care physicians in training. A proud Iranian American and mother of three young adults, she currently resides in Los Angeles, California, where she provides gender-affirming healthcare for trans and gender-diverse youth.