At 13 I left my home in Tehran to live with my aunt and grandmother in Trinidad. For me, that was the beginning of a journey that repeatedly reaffirmed the idea that we are not the sum of our parts. By that I mean if you are taken apart, piece by piece, belief by belief, home by home, you can never put yourself back together and say: Now, I am done. The doing and undoing is simultaneous, never-ending, and essential.

My new memoir in verse, Abacus of Loss (forthcoming March 2022) is not a straightforward telling of my story. It does not follow the arrow of time. I tell the story by bending time and form, traveling inward and outward.

I hope you choose to journey with me. If you do, please write and share your experience.