Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card

Chapter One

A Brief (but Juicy) History of My Birthplace (and My Birth)

 

 

I swear on my autographed copy of Ethan Hawke s debut novel that this chapter will not be dull, so please don t skim or skip over it. If you won t take my word for it and have no vested interest in broadening your worldview, here s the most important takeaway: Iran is not pronounced I-ran; it s pronounced e-ron. Spread the word. Tell all your friends. Tweet it. Shout it from the rooftops. Correct people. It ll make you sound smart and cultured. On behalf of my fellow Iranians (e-ron-ians), we thank you.

 

Now, for those juicy historical details you were promised! Real talk: Iran has dealt with its fair share of strife and political unrest. And while I m not one to point fingers or lay blame . . . the United States and Britain were totally at fault. Okay, that s not entirely accurate. The West might not be directly accountable for all of Iran s drama, but they definitely stirred the pot, back in the early 1950s. During that time, Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh ruled Iran. Personally, I consider the man a hero. He was a democratically elected leader, and a progressive. But his main claim to fame was that he nationalized Iran s oil industry. Prior to Mossadegh, the country s most valuable resource was under British control. But why let the Brits instead of Iranians profit off of Iran s most lucrative industry? That s the equivalent of Kanye West pocketing all the profits from 1989 (the Taylor Swift album, not the year in history). Thus, Iran told the British oil companies to hit the road, and the Brits were predictably pissed. Mossadegh to Britain: Bye, Felicia.

 

So Britain decided to call in a favor to their bestie: the United States. If texting had existed at that time, then Winston Churchill would have sent President Eisenhower a bunch of crying-faced emojis. According to Churchill, they needed

Sara Saedi was born in Tehran, Iran smack-dab in the middle of a war and an Islamic Revolution. She received a B.A. in Film and Mass Communications from the University of California, Berkeley and began her career as a creative executive for ABC Daytime. Since then she's penned three TV movies for ABC Family and a pilot for the Disney Channel, won a Daytime Emmy for What If..., a web series she wrote for ABC, and worked as a staff writer on the FOX sitcom The Goodwin Games. Her first novel for young adults, Never Ever , was published by Viking in June. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, son, and pug, where she writes for the hit CW show iZombie. Learn more on Twitter at @saaaranotsarah or at SaraSaediWriter.com.

A timely reflection on the realities of immigrant lives, a must-read for anyone who has ever struggled with their identity or finding their place in the world. Bustle

"Filled with pop culture references, journal excerpts, photographs, and relatable coming-of-age content, this book will keep readers fully entertained while pushing them to deeper cultural understandings. " School Library Journal, starred review

"This irresistible and timely memoir is hard to put down." Booklist, starred review

"With gumption, Saedi draws from her American-ness and Iranian-ness for a successful depiction of immigrant life in the U.S.: a must-read." Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"This is an encounter with a family that many readers will understand and others will long to be a part of, and it may inspire them to reconsider and chronicle their own family tales." Bulletin, starred review