Donia Bijan is an Iranian-American author and chef based in California. She is the author of the book Maman’s Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen (2011) and the novel The Last Days of Café Leila (2017).

“Strange things happened when I returned to Tehran in 2010 after thirty-two years in exile,” writes Donia Bijan in her recent essay, “The Women’s Hour.” Traveling with her sister, she found her childhood home – the hospital their father built in the 1950s, on an avenue that was once named after him. On the top floor was where Bijan was born, and where the family lived. In the yard was the final resting place for the family dog. The pool, in which Bijan learned to swim, was still there.

"In 2010, I went back to Iran for a short visit after 32 years in exile. It was an incredibly moving experience. I was a stranger. I didn’t even know how to tie a headscarf properly. I spoke like the awkward 15-year-old who had left three decades ago, and yet, I felt the very earth whisper to me, “Where have you been? What took you so long to come back?” When I returned home to California, I knew I would never see my childhood home again. But, I was haunted by that voice. I had to find a way to capture that intense feeling of belonging and not belonging, of being sister and stranger. Writing a novel was my way of making something out of the beautiful ruins of my birthplace, to show the courage and tolerance of those who stayed, and also those who had to leave. For me, there was no going back; but could I come up with a fictional character to take me there?

"I came alone in 1978. I went to high school in Michigan. I stayed with a wonderful family who took me under their wing; their daughter is my best friend to this day. It was the eve of my 16th birthday, and I was lucky to be welcomed into their family. Her Mom treated me like a daughter, she made sure I went to the prom. That’s not to say that I wasn’t desperately homesick – just the thought of it still makes my stomach hurt – but I was safe. I wasn’t harassed. It may be because I grew up bilingual (my mom insisted that we learn English) and I could communicate, keep up with the curriculum. Of course, I was incredibly awkward socially but I kept my head down and my eyes and ears open so I could learn as much as I could about this new world."