In the Time of Our History — Susanne Pari

Inspired by her own heritage, Susanne Pari takes readers into the heart of a large Iranian-American family, exploring their complex bonds and betrayals in an evocative and deeply involving novel about mothers, daughters, sisterhood, and secrets that will resonate with fans of Gina Wilkinson's When the Apricots Bloom.

This sweeping, multigenerational saga transports readers into the world of the Jahani family, Iranian immigrants grappling with the future of their traditions as an American-born daughter steps outside her expected role, shaking loose their foundations -- and their secrets -- in a novel that poses larger questions about the meaning of marriage, motherhood, and starting anew even as we long for the place we once called home . . .

Twelve months after her younger sister Anahita's death, Mitra Jahani reluctantly returns to her parents' home in suburban New Jersey to observe the Iranian custom of “The One Year.” Ana is always in Mitra's heart, though they chose very different paths. While Ana, sweet and dutiful, bowed to their domineering father's demands and married, Mitra rebelled, and was banished.

Caught in the middle is their mother, Shireen, torn between her fierce love for her surviving daughter and her loyalty to her husband. Yet his callousness even amid shattering loss has compelled her to rethink her own decades of submission. And when Mitra is suddenly forced to confront hard truths about her sister's life, and the secrets each of them hid to protect others, mother and daughter reach a new understanding -- and forge an unexpected path forward.

Alive with the tensions, sacrifices, and joys that thrum within the heart of every family, In the Time of Our History is also laced with the richness of ancient and modern Persian culture and politics, in a tale that is both timeless and profoundly relevant.