Harvesting Rosewater

by Paria Hassouri

"A moving exploration of being caught at a cultural and professional crossroads in midlife and of the transformative power of finally facing the stories we've buried to survive." -Marjan Kamali, best-selling author of The Lion Women of Tehran 



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.

356 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 15, 2025

About the author

Paria Hassouri is an author, pediatrician, and mother of three young adults. She is also a marathoner, activist, wine enthusiast (bold reds preferred), storyteller, carbohydrate lover, avid reader (Jane Austen meet Cheryl Strayed), feminist, validator, and shoe addict--not necessarily in that order. A proud Iranian-American, she spent most of her formative years in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Her personal essays have been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Huffington Post, Women's Running Magazine, Kevin MD, and Grown and Flown. She has presented stories on stage through Expressing Motherhood and participated in many speaking and teaching engagements. She currently resides in Los Angeles, providing gender-affirming care for trans and gender-diverse youth.
She can be found through her website pariahassouri.com, or on Instagram @laparia.

Reviews

[Paria Hassouri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m the author, so I may be a little biased;)

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so grateful to be able to read amazing books by Iranian American authors who are also my mother. <3

[Nima Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, wow! I'm in awe!
What Akhavass does so brilliantly is anchor her story in a world that feels intensely specific and yet universally human. The threads of her heritage and the immigrant experience aren't presented as political arguments, but as a deeply personal tapestry of memory and resilience. It’s about what we carry with us—the recipes, the scents, the stories—to build a sense of home wherever we are. It feels incredibly timely, a quiet testament to the strength it takes to preserve your culture and fight for human rights.

The real heart of the book for me, though, was the family dynamics. The depiction of the divorce is one of the most honest I’ve ever read. It’s not painted in broad strokes of good and evil; it’s full of subtle fractures, quiet grief, and a lingering, complicated love that feels painfully true to life. This extends to her reflections on her siblings—the profound realization that we never fully know the entire inner world of even those we share a history with, and yet, we choose to hold space for them in our hearts anyway. Furthermore, the writing about her children and identity is breathtakingly powerful; it's a celebration of embracing one's truest self beyond the constraints of gender, and the radical act of knowing yourself so deeply that you can fearlessly share that self with the world.

And the food! YUM- the food and wine descriptions are a character all their own. I was literally hungry the entire time I was reading. Akhavass writes about meals and wine with such evocative passion that I felt I was at the table. I was so blown away that I went out and bought a bottle of orange wine—something I’d never even heard of before—just to feel connected to the experience. That’s the power of her writing.

This book is a mold-breaker. It’s a powerful, empathetic, and beautifully crafted novel that sits with you long after you’ve put it down. Highly, highly recommended.

[Booklover &#x1f4d6;✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harvesting Rosewater is a beautiful, heartfelt story following Farah, a middle-aged physician navigating some of life’s most complex challenges — raising a transgender child, coping with a fresh divorce, and reconciling her past with her present.

The novel masterfully weaves together multiple timelines — Farah’s childhood in post-Islamic revolution Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, her teenage years as an immigrant in Cincinnati, Ohio, and her current life as a mother and professional in the United States.

As someone who has lived in Iran, this book felt deeply personal to me. I could relate to so many of the moments and emotions Paria Hassouri described. It brought back memories of my own time living in Iran and gave me a profound appreciation for how accurately she captured the struggles and insecurities of life as an immigrant.

Through Farah’s story, Paria Hassouri explores themes of identity, motherhood, resilience, and the emotional weight of leaving one home to build another. The writing is tender yet powerful, shining light on both Farah’s vulnerabilities and her strength.

A deeply moving, layered narrative that will stay with me for a long time.

[Mitra Pourmehraban · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounding up to 5. Having read her memoir, Found in Transition, it's clear this novel is a blend of Hassouri's real life and some fiction. All I kept thinking as I read is wow, this is so relevant to the current times! Every single detail is well thought out and intentional - I just loved this. Fans of Marjan Kamali will enjoy this. I adore books that skew chronology in timelines as it adds another dimension; that being said, I found that having the switch between years occur so frequently was initially distracting to follow. However, it became easier to navigate after getting more acquainted with the characters.

[Erin Sparkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 Koehler Books for letting me have an advanced to review.

[Celeste Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Sheila The Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Farah Afshar, newly divorced and leading the OB-GYN department at Mount Sinai, finds her carefully built life shaken as the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran resurfaces long-buried memories and a secret she has kept for forty years. Seeking clarity in wine country, she must decide whether to finally confront her past and trust that those she loves can accept the truth of who she is and where she comes from.

This book is such a great example of literary fiction with strong character development. I connected to Farah so deeply. I felt empathy for her as she tried to understand her past, make peace with the choices she made, and find her way back to herself. Her journey felt honest and human in so many ways.

The themes in this book cover wide territory like gender identity, reproductive rights, marital and family roles, cultural identity, and how past traumas can shape the way we show up in our lives today. It challenged my thinking in a lot of ways, the same way Farah is constantly pushing herself to think and feel through her own story. It also felt like such a love letter to the cultural richness of New York City and the way a place can become part of who you are, even if you're not from there.

The alternating timelines did trip me up just a little, mainly because I listened to this one instead of reading a physical copy. It can be harder to keep track of dates or transitions in audio, so it took me a bit to settle in. That was the only small reason this didn’t hit full five stars for me.

Mozhan Navabi narrated this and her voice is just spectacularly sublime. I have loved her since The Lion Women of Tehran and The Stationery Shop, and she brought such warmth, depth, and quiet emotion to Farah’s story. Her narration elevated the whole experience.

If you enjoy thoughtful books that sit with womanhood, identity, midlife, and the work of coming home to yourself, I think this one will really land for you. I found pieces of myself here.

[Karli Sherwinter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could give this more than five stars. I loved this book so much, and I can’t wait to encourage everyone to read it. Paria Hassouri’s first book was the most helpful thing I read when Kai came out, and I appreciated her honesty as she shared her feelings about her own child’s transition. I started following her on Instagram, which is how I heard about this novel. I really connected with so many aspects of the story – not simply because of the Cincinnati connection or having a trans son, but all of the midlife changes, the relationship struggles, and the desire to find out how to simply be, especially given the situation in the world. Farah‘s relationship with her family is full of depth, and I was glad her evolution involved a deeper connection with herself in order to heal her past trauma and insecurity. My only question is how Farah can drink so much wine during perimenopause?! Go buy this book!

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart broke and then healed as I read this powerful novel, swept up in Farah's courageous journey from Iran to America. Her transformation from a guilt-ridden teenager carrying a devastating secret to a brave woman who saves and cherishes lives consumed me. Paria Hassouri captures the beauty of Iran alongside the brutal erosion of its citizens' rights under religious autocracy, while also celebrating Farah's deepening awe of the immense diversity around her: the magic of love in all its forms, the spectrum of gender, the dedication of healers, and the wonder of friendship. Through it all, the novel explores the struggle to balance this complex world with the demands of marriage and motherhood. I loved this book.

[LH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our protagonist is ever cognizant of the rules & expectations heaped upon her since childhood during the Islamic Revolution in Iran through higher education pursuing the “American dream.” She triumphs in part and carves out an immigrant dream-come-true life, but crumbles around the edges and drags us through windows & cubbies of her complicated life experiences— some foreign, many familiar along the themes of family, marriage, abuse, secrets.
Hits so many nuanced themes in the family dynamics: support, independence, love, trust, disappointment. I loved the relationship of mother & child and sister-to-sister.

A riveting ride you must take.
Read this now.
Lingers long after you finish.

[Brian O'Hare · Rating 5 out of 5]

What price the 'American Dream'? What sacrifices must we make of our culture, our families and of ourselves in pursuit of that dream? Paria Hassouri explores these questions in her debut novel, 'Harvesting Rosewater'—a captivating book brimming with humanity and compassion. Hassouri is a gifted storyteller, deftly interweaving locations, characters and time into a dynamic narrative. But it's beneath the surface where the magic lies, the secrets, fears and guilt that cause us to stumble, to doubt who we are—yet as a reader, Hassouri takes us on a rewarding journey as we witness her protagonist push forward in search of those answers—what's important? Who am I? Questions that relate not just to immigrants, or women, or whomever, but to all of us. A terrific book.

[Alexandra Forman-Chou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I was engrossed from start to finish. As a midlife, midcareer physician and mother myself, I related to many aspects of Farah’s story. The details were spot on. As for some of the other aspects that are not as familiar to me, I learned so much by walking in Farah’s shoes for three hundred pages and am very grateful to the author for the education, especially on Iranian-American experience and culture. I am left reflecting on the strength and determination of immigrant families, the secrets that people carry, and the idea that it is never too late to redefine oneself.

[Dianne C Braley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harvesting Rosewater is a deeply human, beautifully layered story that explores what it means to live between cultures, between truths, and between the past and present. Farah’s journey is heartbreaking, fierce, and ultimately redemptive. This novel isn’t just about one woman’s reckoning—it’s a testament to the power of truth, memory, and the courage it takes to finally stop running.

[Martha Reay-meeker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ended up reading this book by accident. I had meant to get her memoir about her child transitioning and accidentally downloaded this one instead. It was a wonderful story. I’m so glad I kept it and read it.

[Stephanie Savelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a beautiful book by a beautiful human! I am not Iranian American but I am a woman in medicine and so much of this book spoke to me as I navigate middle age and the challenges it brings as you finally have time for self reflection.

[Marjon Zamani · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing read, get yours now!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen to Paria Hassouri on the Book Gang Podcast NOW! This Physician Shares Her Indie Publishing Journey. Click here to tune in! If you love the show, please consider joining my Patreon.

***
I devoured this midlife story in a day and can't recommend it enough. Hassouri's debut pulls readers into the daily lives of children growing up after the Islamic Revolution and through the Iran–Iraq War—from hiding in basements during air raids, to navigating the new hijab requirement, to watching their education transform before their very eyes. Just as we settle into the intimacy of their days, a family tragedy strikes, and Farah carries the weight of her involvement deep within her heart for years to come.

Now, forty years later in America, Farrah is in the thick of midlife changes from raising a transgender child, to navigating the ridiculous insurance bureaucracies as a physician that pull her away from the heart of her work, to her fresh divorce.

As she navigates the highs & lows of seeing her family morphing into something unexpected, she begins to find her footing in unforeseen ways through new passion projects, career moves, and learning a new way of navigating life with her child. But nothing can truly be resolved until she confronts the tragedy she left behind. As the Women, Life, Freedom movement sparks protests on American soil, Farah must confront her past to begin the actual healing process.

This moving novel is perfect for readers who feel caught between cultures or have a deep desire to understand the journey of others, especially in this modern moment. Hassouri gives us a protagonist who embodies the ache of leaving, the pain of staying, and the triumph of finally speaking into that chasm.

This book is sure to be a hit for fans of Mad Honey and Slanting Towards the Sea. Please secure a copy, and I look forward to introducing Paria to you on the Book Gang podcast to gain a deeper understanding of the elements of autofiction that permeate this exquisite story.

[John Lanza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I learned a lot about the Iranian immigrant experience, and the difficulties Farah experiences assimilating into American culture. The book is also a window into the difficulties professional women face by having to bear the lion's share of the burden of family duties. It's like an invisible tax they pay that hinders — and can destroy— relationships. But mostly, I enjoyed the optimistic thread that drives the novel as Farah bucks professional, personal and societal conventions to find her way — and herself — in the world.

[Ginny Wareing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harvesting Rosewater is a beautiful story of making peace with your past and finding joy in new beginnings. Set mainly in the wine country of Paso Robles the author does a wonderful job of making the reader feel like you are right there in the vineyards with her (so much so that I found myself yearning to try each wine she mentioned), and as she refers back to her past in Iran you can envision yourself there and feel like you know the culture and characters. I found this to be a lovely story about the obstacles we face as we enter middle age and look back at the regrets of our past and try to create a more fulfilling future.