My Name Means Fire: A Memoir

by Atash Yaghmaian

“I was riveted by this searing ode to the resiliency of the human psyche, rich in beauty and devastation.”—Melissa Febos, author of Girlhood

An unflinching and stunning debut memoir of an Iranian girl’s coming-of-age experiencing abuse, war, and superstition—and her survival through dissociative identity disorder, which offered her an inner world into which she could escape

When she was a child, Atash Yaghmaian’s home life was unpredictable: a confusing mix of love and terror. Outside of her home, Iran was also on fire. Her reality of abuse, war, gender oppression, and religious superstition left her feeling unsafe everywhere. So, she left reality and disassociated into a place she called the House of Stone: a building in a magical forest full of peaceful creatures, kind talking trees, and volcanoes. Inhabiting this world are 9 beings, each different parts of Atash, who would be her salvation from the external horrors of her outer world.

Set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime, and the 8-year Iran-Iraq War, My Name Means Fire is Atash’s story of survival as she experiences tragic events including sexual abuse, a mother who subjected her to superstitious rituals, and the horrors of war. In chapters alternating with what’s happening in her outside world, her other parts—each named after a color—tell the story of her inner world, giving readers an understanding of what it’s like to be inside the consciousness of someone who is multiple.

Honest, powerful, and moving, My Name Means Fire is a bold narrative that challenges the stigma and misinformation around dissociative identity disorder (DID) and ultimately reckons with what it takes to survive.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Psychology, History, Biography Memoir, Audiobook

248 pages, Hardcover

Published October 14, 2025

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible and riveting debut memoir of a young girl growing up in Iran.

Surrounded by the horrors of war, abusive men, and a superstitious mother, Atash creates a magical world that protects her from the real world.

The structure of the book alternates between the real world of Atash and the colorful fragments that make up Atash, revealing her survival mechanism through dissociative identity disorder that will grip you from beginning to end.

What a beautiful and harrowing story of survival and determination.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educate yourself with this memoir. Set in the 70s and 80s growing up in Iran for a young girl. This story is one the world needs to hear. I absolutely loved this because so many people in western culture are stuck in it and not educated on other people’s reality in other parts of our world. I highly recommend you check this book out!

[lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting memoir of a young girl growing up in Iran during the 1970s and 1980s, who developed dissociative identity disorder to survive her traumatic childhood. This was a pretty good book, but so much of it seemed to be written as the author was discovering things about herself that she had forgotten, so a lot of it wasn't explained as fully as it should have been. I was also frustrated at the end of the book when I realized that it was going to end just as the author finally made her escape to the United States, i.e. just as the story seemed to be picking up. I hope she writes another, since the paragraph summary at the end of the book didn't do it justice.

I also would have liked to hear more about the alters, since their part of the book mostly seems to be their origin story. What did they truly experience with Atash, and how did they help her? I understand that since the writing of this book the author has discovered more alters. I hope we hear more about them in a future book.

[Montana · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a powerful and resonant memoir, I am having a hard time putting it into words.
Atash grows up in Iran and experiences abuse, neglect, and other horrors that no child should ever experience. Her survival journey leads to, and is accompanied by, dissociative identity disorder (DID), otherwise known as (but should not be referred to as) multiple personality disorder. This coping mechanism is explored through its origin and into adulthood, with chapters dedicated to each side of Atash (referred to as different colours).
DID is highly stigmatized and highly misunderstood. It was equally fascinating and heartbreaking to be allowed insight into the mind of someone with these experiences. Not only did I learn a lot about the experiences of DID, I also learned a lot about Iran in the 70s-80s, during the Iranian Revolution and the origin of the immense oppression of women.

I will be the first to acknowledge that there is probably no book on the planet that will be liked by everyone. However, I feel that this is one that everyone should read. It is gripping, unputdownable, emotional, informative, heartbreaking, and perhaps most importantly, destigmatizing.

[Rachel Joytobearound · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply moving story. However it’s not for the faint of heart, there are some very disturbing parts and there should probably be a trigger warning.

[Shey · Rating 4 out of 5]

more like 4.5

[Molly Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set against a back-drop of war-torn Iran in the 1970s and 80s, My Name Means Fire is a breathtaking memoir about a young girl and her many parts. This is a story of abuse and trauma, but it is also a story of courage, love and hope. The author lives with dissociative identity disorder (DID), and this memoir, which tracks the emergence of her various parts, will change the way many people view this condition. I particularly love the way the story is structured--chapters alternate among the perspective of the author's parts, who are known by different colors. The effect is spellbinding. You won't want to put this one down.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC to review.

I think what sets this memoir apart from others it that the author labels her different personalities as colors, and we get to meet them in between chapters about her life. It provides a really unique experience while also being a fascinating memoir. Even if my upbringing was not as traumatic, there were parts that made me reflect on my life and understand it just a little better.

[Lauren ₊⋆·˚‧₊ · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an American I will probably never know what it is like to live in a war zone like Atash did during the Iranian revolution. What I do know is what it is like to be a woman in this world. I know what it is like to being abused by men as a small child and have no idea why. I know what it is like to both metaphorically and literally start fires for attention.
“Before, I’d thought that what I longed for was to hurt people the way I had been hurt. But I realized that what I really wanted was for people to know what had happened to me.”
At 19 I also escaped my home just like Atash. Less than ten years later I find myself back in that home, not the same home, but with the woman that raised me. I have thrown myself back into the fire without a second's hesitation for how that will affect me or my own Red.
Reading the Epilogue felt like reading a letter that I would write to my own "inner child" or, following Atash's system, my Red. “Even though you’re little, I know you’re the wisest part of me, because you’re the part that never forgets why we’re here: to play and be free. You are our guiding light, and all parts of me know now that we must protect you, your innocence, and your vulnerability.”

I read this book in only a couple of hours and today I really needed it. I will be more patient with myself through this time. I will think of Atash.

[Sarah Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, and the author is a good writer. Big trigger warning (sexual trauma & warzones) but this is one of the more accurate depictions of DID I've seen in media (most of them are pretty bad). I love a memoir, and this one was endearing with a happy ending.

[RO✿ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. So beautifully written and heartbreaking!

[RoyalTeaReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Name Means Fire by @ayhealing is one of the most powerful, beautiful, heartbreaking stories of resilience I’ve ever heard! Perfectly written and audio narrated and a glimpse into a brilliant mind. Highly recommend

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️3.5, rounded up

[Mitra Pourmehraban · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating memoir of a young girl battling dissociative identity disorder as a result of her upbringing filled with physical, sexual, and emotional abuse set during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. This is not an easy read.

[The Page Ladies Book Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some memoirs recount; others immerse. My Name Means Fire does both, drawing you into a harrowing childhood in post-revolution Iran while also opening the door to the extraordinary inner world that helped Atash Yaghmaian survive.

The book moves between two planes: the outer world of abuse, war, gender oppression, and superstition, and the inner House of Stone, a magical refuge populated by nine beings, each representing a different part of Atash herself. The juxtaposition is powerful. One chapter might detail the terror of bombings or the suffocating rules of Khomeini’s regime; the next, a gentle conversation with a kind tree or a volcano guardian in her inner sanctuary. The structure lets us experience dissociation not as an abstraction but as a living, breathing place, a strategy of survival when reality becomes unbearable.

Yaghmaian’s prose is at once unflinching and lyrical. She doesn’t shy away from the devastating realities of sexual abuse, superstition, and war, but she also gives voice to resilience, creativity, and the fractured brilliance of a mind that refused to break. Reading it feels like being guided through both a war zone and a dreamscape at once, and by the end, the title My Name Means Fire rings with both pain and power.

If you’re interested in memoirs that blend narrative innovation with raw honesty think Educated crossed with The Body Keeps the Score this book is a striking, unforgettable read.

⚡️Thank you Beacon Press and Atash Yaghmaian for sharing this book with me!

[Sarvenaz Taridashti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book touched my heart! Every single word of it!
I've a lot to write, will update the review soon.

[Richard Derus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real Rating: 4.75* of five

The Publisher Says: An unflinching and stunning debut memoir of an Iranian girl’s coming-of-age experiencing abuse, war, and superstition—and her survival through dissociative identity disorder, which offered her an inner world into which she could escape

When she was a child, Atash Yaghmaian’s home life was unpredictable: a confusing mix of love and terror. Outside of her home, Iran was also on fire. Her reality of abuse, war, gender oppression, and religious superstition left her feeling unsafe everywhere. So, she left reality and disassociated into a place she called the House of Stone: a building in a magical forest full of peaceful creatures, kind talking trees, and volcanoes. Inhabiting this world are 9 beings, each different parts of Atash, who would be her salvation from the external horrors of her outer world.

Set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime, and the 8-year Iran-Iraq War, My Name Means Fire is Atash’s story of survival as she experiences tragic events including sexual abuse, a mother who subjected her to superstitious rituals, and the horrors of war. In chapters alternating with what’s happening in her outside world, her other parts—each named after a color—tell the story of her inner world, giving readers an understanding of what it’s like to be inside the consciousness of someone who is multiple.

Honest, powerful, and moving, My Name Means Fire is a bold narrative that challenges the stigma and misinformation around dissociative identity disorder (DID) and ultimately reckons with what it takes to survive.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A story not of abuse, but the lengths a mind will go to in order to survive abuse.

Author Atash is a child of war, growing up in revolutionary Iran during its convulsive birth. She had the bad fortune to be female at a time that was becoming as awfully abuse-worthy and dangerous as it can possibly be. She was equally unlucky in having a mother sufficiently divorced from reality as to subject her daughter to bizarre-to-me religious rituals in place of protecting her or getting her proper care.

We had the same mother, Author Atash. Mine had no war to excuse her insanity, but I had the great good luck to be born male. Harms balanced; my heart goes out to you. It won't help forty years later but it is sincere sadness for the things that occurred in your life that caused splitting your mind into compartments was the best way to keep yourself safe.

In this story of peril unprotected, abuse unstopped, and damage unheeded, the one thing that ran through my mind was, "your mind is astoundingly powerful! Your ability to divide yourself into different people, each capable of more than you thought you were, is close to miraculous!"

It was hard to read, I wanted to help her escape her lunatic mother, rescue her from the war-torn horrors around her adolescent self. I hurt for the potential squandered in her awful childhood...a mind this resilient could easily have achieved much more than survival, though it is astonishing she managed to survive. I'm extremely impressed that her life has been such that she was able to conceptualize and create this account of how she came to be a multiple, and how she became a self that could function.
I wished, to be honest, we had spent more time with the multiples, not quite so much detailing their traumatic genesis. It's a quibble, too, that ending the story as she's escaping to the US felt...rushed...but it gives me hope Author Atash will write a volume two. I'm glad I got to meet Fire in her present state.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book by a woman who grew up in Iran during the Iranian revolution and war with Iraq. Alongside these issues, she endured sexual abuse and cruelty from family members and teachers alike. I enjoy learning about Iranian culture and beliefs, but that was only half of it.......

At the same time, Atash was developing Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personalities) from a young age as a coping mechanism against all this trauma. Woven between chapters telling her story of Iranian culture and her dysfunctional family life, were chapters on each of the colors that represented alternate personalities and their flights of fancy. These were fantasy tales that didn't make that much sense, but perhaps that was the point, since she couldn't remember what she'd really been doing while becoming a different personality.

The book ended with her arrival in America with no details about what happened afterward. She clearly managed to become successful and works to help others. Hopefully she will eventually write another book about that part of her life.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This powerful and beautiful memoir gives the reader a glimpse into the inordinately painful world of a young girl whose experience is rife with abuse, neglect, the horrors of war and so many other challenges that our young children should never be subjected to. Its triumph is in letting us see the power of our minds to create a healing space that helps us survive -- in Atash's case, the House of Stone, where her different selves are able to help and heal and support each other, a place where her vulnerable child's mind can go when her body and psyche are being wracked with abuse.

Although we don't all have dissociative identity disorder, we all have many selves -- we contain multitudes, as Walt Whitman reminded us. For those who take the opportunity to learn from Atash's story and experience, we have a chance to reflect on delving deeper into those selves -- the lonely child, the longing adolescent, the rebellious spirit, the fearful shadow. May our reflections on this profound memoir serve us all well.

And like so many others, I am very much looking forward to the sequel!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir makes you feel as if you are right beside Atash while she shows her life story. The writing and tone is personal, vulnerable, and raw, bringing to light to experiences that people need to witness and acknowledge. There isn’t a single page from this memoir that fails to keep you from reading. I read this in two days, and once I saw the pages coming closer to the end, I felt so overjoyed to know Atash fought endlessly to create her own destiny.

This author brings you into her world, into the House of Stone, the heartaches, the struggles,
hopes, dreams, and most of all into her relentless strength. Atash’s kindness and generosity to the factory girls stood out to me when reading. It felt so bittersweet and uplifting to see a young woman, who was constantly hurt by the world, treat other young women like her with such care and concern. I wished she had that when she was younger.

Every color you will meet in this book will stick with you forever. I can’t recommend this enough. So beautiful, authentic, and unwavering. Unforgettable prose!

[Cassia Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Name Means Fire is an unflinchingly honest memoir that gives the reader a clear firsthand account of what severe trauma can do to a young child. The author went through horrific abuse as a child; she lived through war and revolution, endured a violent and repressive regime, was abused by both strangers and family members, including a narcissistic mother.

As a result, parts of the book are difficult, not to say harrowing, to read. But the author’s story moved me deeply and allowed me to understand what Dissociative Identity Disorder really is and how it comes about – basically, a coping mechanism for someone under immense stress to escape unspeakable horrors to a make-believe world of her own imagination.

Horrific and harrowing, yet full of hope, My Name Means Fire is a courageous retelling, a testament to the ingenuity of the human psyche and the resilience of the human spirit

[Butterfli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Yaghmaian wrote just as told in the book jacked endleaves, and more. The traumatic events are told through her dissociative perspective, making the terrorifying experiences easier to read and protect the child in a very imaginative way. The power of her innate tools of survival bring the little girl to adulthood as a survivor, a strong self accepting woman, and able to professionally help others with DID. I would like to read a second part of the memoir, sharing about the adult healing jouring.

[Sierra Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel immensely lucky to have had an opportunity to read Atash's story! What tremendous vulnerability and bravery this took to share such deep parts of oneself! Thank you for trusting your readers to get to know you and all of your lovely parts! A second big thank you for challenging stigmas associated with mental health and processing trauma. Many people are still scared to share their stories or seek professional supports. I hope readers learn the importance of self-love, self-compassion, and that they are deserving of help!

[Jessica Koczera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir has so many different elements to it. The different traumas & abuse throughout the author's childhood was devastating & heartbreaking. It's understandable why she had DID to escape from the pain she endured time & time again. Physically & mentally. To be able to learn about another country & it's culture & what it was like to grow up during the time period there, was enlightening. I couldn't put this book down & was rooting for the author's freedom from all of the negativity until the very end. She is a true survivor. 10/10 read!

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has to be one of the most intense memoirs I have read (note at this point I'm one of the only people you know who has not yet read "I'm Glad My Mom Died" yet). The quick summary of Atash's life, is that every single adult fully failed her, and some were worse. I know some of it was geopolitical and some of it was cultural but it was still pretty unbelievable. I'm glad she ultimately found some stability even though it was a decades long journey.

[Kathleen Van thiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Atash, a young girl living in Iran during the Revolution. She developed a dissociative identity disorder, the result of sexual and physical abuse. I found the story slow going until I was almost half way through the book. I don’t enjoy reading about children who are abused, but I felt her story was powerful and admire her strength to get through it. The ending was rushed. I’m hoping a second book is planned, discussing her transition to America.

[Yahya Yaziji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a well written memoir - stories of grief and growth, pain and abuse, learning to find yourself, and more. I’m so thankful to have learned about Atash and her journey to this moment.

Some parts took me long to read through. The honest and raw description of her story needed to be witnessed and “space” made for.

I may not have DID, but I feel like I learned somethings about myself. And I love that.

Would recommend this book 100%

[Karine Levesque-Koma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love books and biographies around mental health! I was really looking forward to this one but ended up being a little disappointed. I would’ve loved for the focus to be a little more on the diagnosis itself like the book sociopath did and life from that lense. But what a powerful story and overall extremely eye opening. Very grateful to authors that share their lives with us, it takes a lot of courage!

[Laura N · Rating 4 out of 5]

The was an interesting memoir about a girl growing up in Iran undergoing unspeakable trauma. She copes with this by creating multiple personalities/dissociative identity disorder in her mind. It is a miracle that she survived and was able to make it on her own in America becoming a successful writer and therapist. I wish she would have written about how she was able to pull herself together to get help once she came to the US and rejected the arranged marriage.

[Ana Livia Ramalho · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so important! To say the least!
I read it in 4 days, I could not put it down! The author is so brave and captivating, it is hard to not want to know more. I finished this book and I’m missing all her amazing identities already, like they all became my friends somehow!
Emotions apart, this book tells a story that needs to be told, it might be hard to digest at times, triggering, but necessary!