The author of The Lonely War: One Woman’s Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran (The Guardian, Vogue and Foreign Policy Association named the Lonely War the best nonfiction of 2014), has written over 2,000 articles on politics, trade, and society in the Middle East.

In our live session with Nazila Fathi, we will hear about her inspiration as an author and mother to share our rich heritage of Persia, the country we call Iran today. Although the physical region called Persia no longer exists, people from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, parts of Pakistan and India, Syria, Turkey, Israel and Palestine were once part of the Persian Empire and share strong cultural links.

Storytelling is the most powerful tool to inspire people. These books invite children into fun stories, teach them history, let them become part of the adventure and pick strong role models.

Nazila Fathi has a master’s degree in political science and women’s studies from the University of Toronto and is the winner of three fellowships at Harvard Kennedy School.

As a hobby, she writes children’s books. Her three children’s books, My Name Is Cyrus, Avicenna: The Father of Modern Medicine, and Razi: The Man Who Discovered How to Make Alcohol, available on Amazon.com, share Iranian culture and history with the younger generation of Iranian background growing up in the West.