Book Review: “Concealed”

Book Review: “Concealed” by Esther Amini (digital)

Sisterhood hosts bi-monthly book reviews throughout the year that are open to the public. March’s book review will be led by Rabbi Pam Silk.

Please Note: This book review will be held by Zoom, and the information to access will be emailed ahead of time to those who register.

A summary of our March book selection can be found below:

Esther Amini grew up in Queens, New York, during the freewheeling 1960’s. 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 root 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 parent’s arduous journey to the U.S., where they faced a new threat to their traditions: the threat of freedom.

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

To help us plan for our book reviews and to receive communications about future book reviews, we ask that you kindly RSVP by Wednesday, March 9, by completing the form online or by contacting the Sisterhood at sishood@emanuelhouston.org or 713.529.5771, ext. 233.