Concealed

by Esther Amini

Overview

Esther Amini grew up in Queens, New York, during the freewheeling 1960s. She also grew up in a Persian-Jewish household, the American-born daughter of parents who had fled Mashhad, Iran. In Concealed, she tells the story of being caught between these two worlds: the dutiful daughter of tradition-bound parents who hungers for more self-determination than tradition allows.

Exploring the roots of her father’s deep silences and explosive temper, her mother’s flamboyance and flights from home, and her own sense of indebtedness to her Iranian-born brothers, Amini uncovers the story of her parents’ early years in Mashhad, Iran’s holiest Muslim city; the little-known history of Mashhad’s underground Jews; the incident that steeled her mother’s resolve to leave; and her parents’ arduous journey to the U.S., where they faced a new threat to their traditions: the threat of freedom. Determined to protect his daughter from corruption, Amini’s father prohibits talk, books, education, and pushes an early Persian marriage instead. Can she resist? Should she? Focused intently on what she stands to gain, Amini comes to see what she also stands to lose: a family and community bound by food, celebrations, sibling escapades, and unexpected acts of devotion by parents to whom she feels invisible.

In this poignant, funny, entertaining, and uplifting memoir, Amini documents with keen eye, quick wit, and warm heart how family members build, buoy, wound, and save one another across generations; how lives are shaped by the demands and burdens of loyalty and legacy; and how she rose to the challenge of deciding what to keep and what to discard.

Praise for Concealed

“In this beautifully crafted memoir, Esther Amini weaves a riveting portrait of her family life as the daughter of Iranian-Jewish immigrants in New York City…. It is a deeply personal tale, painfully honest and brilliantly told.”—Susan Mailer, psychoanalyst and author of In Another Place

“Concealed is a heart-wrenching...memoir by the daughter of…Iranian Jews who...never escape the emotional prison of their previous existence. You will cheer for her as you ponder the eternal question: how do we survive our families?”—Sally Koslow, author of Another Side of Paradise

“Concealed is Esther Amini’s remarkable account of growing up in a house where books and education are for boys and prearranged marriage is supposed to be her destiny….Lucky for us she grew up to be a writer…who has produced a wonderful memoir.” —Patty Dann, author of Mermaids

“A moving, honest and compelling memoir that unveils the little-known world of Persian-Jewish

immigrants in America…. Amini’s characters leap off the page right into your heart.” —Ronda Spinak, Artistic Director, Jewish Women’s Theatre

Esther Amini is a writer, painter, and psychoanalytic psychotherapist in private practice. Her short stories have appeared in Elle, Lilith, Tablet, The Jewish Week, and Proximity. She was awarded Aspen Words’ Emerging Writer Fellowship in 2016 based on an early draft of this memoir. Her pieces have been performed by Jewish Women’s Theatre, which name her Artist-in-Residence in 2019. Esther Amini lives in New York City with her husband. Concealed is her debut memoir.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780990619420
Publisher:	Greenpoint Press
Publication date:	04/21/2020
Pages:	310
Sales rank:	213,174
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Esther Amini is a writer, painter, and psychoanalytic psychotherapist in private practice. Her short stories have appeared in Elle, Lilith, Tablet, The Jewish Week, and Proximity. She was awarded Aspen Words' Emerging Writer Fellowship in 2016 based on an early draft of this memoir. Her pieces have been performed by Jewish Women's Theatre, which name her Artist-in-Residence in 2019. Esther Amini lives in New York City with her husband. Concealed is her debut memoir.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Prologue: Invisible – 1

Part One: A Force of Nature

1. Closet Full of Oscars – 5

2. The Box – 17

3. Scalped – 21

4. Public Secret – 29

5. Runaway Bride – 43

6. Shepherd in Queens – 47

7. Kosher at Christmas – 53

8. Tuti – 57

9. Rearview Mirror – 63

10. On Ice – 69

Part Two: From Mashhad to Manhattan

11. David’s Earlobe – 75

12. Queen Esther’s Tomb – 83

13. Exodus – 89

14. Crossing – 97

15. Welcome – 101

16. Thinking Goats – 107

Part Three: Old World Meets New

17. Showering with Mom – 119

18. Neet – 127

19. Cornell –133

20. Friday Night Cleavage – 141

21. Protégé – 147

22. Kitchen Confidential – 153

23. Lady Liberty – 157

24. About Face – 159

25. Origins – 167

Part Four: Breaking Away

26. Behind Bars – 175

27. Booklegger – 181

28. Risky Move – 189

29. Change Subject! – 195

30. Barnard – 203

31. Confession – 209

Part Five: Lost and Found

32. Homecoming – 219

33. Matrimony – 227

34. Jerusalem – 229

35. Scandal – 235

36. Second Chance – 239

37. Ira – 245

Part Six: Bibi

38. Persian Paranoia – 253

39. Gin Rummy – 259

40. Outnumbered – 265

41. Yateem – 269

42. Broken Door – 275

Epilogue: Visible – 281

Family Photos: Iran – 113

Family Photos: Usa – 213

Glossary – 283

Acknowledgments – 289

About the Author – 291

Editorial Reviews

06/26/2020

Amini's warm, poignant, and humorous memoir details her life story as the American-born daughter of Iranian parents, while providing a window into the world of Iranian Jews settling in the United States. Readers witness the author struggling to find her voice within a patriarchal culture that is in sharp contrast to her daily life in 1950s and 1960s New York City. Amini chronicles her hopes and dreams, and how she adapted and thrived as she matured. Along the way, readers discover the culture of Iranian Jews, both in Iran and abroad, and a bit of the Farsi, Hebrew, and Yiddish languages, as translations are provided within the text. VERDICT Exploring issues of gender, religion, and culture, as well as the tensions between tradition and modernity, this wonderful account is highly recommended for readers interested in gender, immigration, and Judaic studies.—Jacqueline Parascandola, Univ. of Pennsylvania, PA

Library Journal

“In this beautifully crafted memoir, Esther Amini weaves a riveting portrait of her family life as the daughter of Iranian-Jewish immigrants in New York City…. It is a deeply personal tale, painfully honest and brilliantly told.”— Susan Mailer, psychoanalyst and author of In Another Place

“Concealed is a heart-wrenching...memoir by the daughter of…Iranian Jews who...never escape the emotional prison of their previous existence. You will cheer for her as you ponder the eternal question: how do we survive our families?”— Sally Koslow, author of Another Side of Paradise

“Concealed is Esther Amini’s remarkable account of growing up in a house where books and education are for boys and prearranged marriage is supposed to be her destiny….Lucky for us she grew up to be a writer…who has produced a wonderful memoir.” — Patty Dann, author of Mermaids

“A moving, honest and compelling memoir that unveils the little-known world of Persian-Jewish immigrants in America…. Amini’s characters leap off the page right into your heart.” — Ronda Spinak, Artistic Director, Jewish Women’s Theatre

From the Publisher

★ 2020-06-01
Amini’s debut memoir chronicles her parents’ lives in Iran, their journey to America, and her own coming-of-age.

As the American-born author grew up in New York City, she heard intriguing stories from her immigrant mother, Hana, who married her father when she was just 14 and he was 34. The couple had secretly lived as Jews in the city of Mashhad, where Hana wore the chador in order to pass as Muslim. Upon arriving in the United States, Hana swapped the chador for Oscar de la Renta gowns and her diffidence for unbridled candor, often at the expense of her husband’s pride. However, the author apparently didn’t inherit her mother’s verbosity or sartorial ostentatiousness; instead, Amini struggled to find her voice in a household that didn’t value the education or autonomy of women. This is a memoir of Amini’s extraordinary journey and of her unflappable love for her family, even when their actions threatened to hinder her dreams—particularly her pursuit of a college education. The author deftly unpacks the complexities of her devout and volatile father, who told her, “It is my responsibility as your father to protect you from Americans and not allow you to become one.” But although he was a formidable figure, he’s also shown to have exhibited moments of tenderness when Amini was sick as a child or when she married the love of her life. The author weaves a central theme of concealment and visibility throughout her book with a fine sense of nuance. In a prologue, she asks, “How could I be unseen when seen…could I disappear upon demand?” And toward the end of the memoir, she writes in her journal, “What does it mean to claim me…to make me mine?” She describes how, ultimately, her love of literature, art, and social work allowed her to answer the latter question and finally find her voice. Here, that voice wields a quiet power, examining her world with unflinching curiosity and care.

A moving, engaging investigation of culture and family.

Kirkus Reviews