Meet the Ahmadi Sisters

This is Leslie Powell Ahmadi: a Black American Christian woman who met and married a man from a Muslim family and lived several years with him and our two young children in Iran.
Every month or so, I enjoy bringing you information, an experience, an encounter, and/or a perspective related to Iran and its people. Something that may catch your attention. 

You may or may not know that I have also written a soon-to-be released memoir about my life and discoveries in Iran, called The Road Between Hearts: A Memoir of a Black American Woman Discovering Iran. Some of you will notice that the title has changed slightly since I last mentioned it … but more about that later. For now, let me share another preview of one of my earliest discoveries (since my last blogpost):                
 
MEET THE AHMADI SISTERS!
 
In the summer of 1989, Mahmoud—my husband of just one year at the time—took a break from his research at Ohio State to visit his parents, siblings, and the rest of his abundant family back in Iran after twelve long years of living in America!
 
Here is a photo of Mahmoud and his five sisters, shortly after they first laid eyes on each other:

When Mahmoud returned to Columbus two weeks later and showed me the photo, the joy that emanated from it was so sweet and palpable, I could almost eat it with a spoon! In order of their position from left to right, he pointed out each one to me proudly. (And one year later, when I went to Iran for my first-time visit, I would come to discover and love each sister and personality in her own right!)
   

• Zahra, the baby sister, exuded kindness and a glamor mystique while somehow managing to make mischief whenever the opportunity presented itself!

 
            (Later, she would paint a stunning replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous  
            painting, “The Last Supper,” and hung it as a centerpiece on her wall. Why?
            Because she loved da Vinci’s painting!
        

• Ozra, the eldest sister, tempered her no-nonsense demeanor and efficiency to match with a penchant for fun—and a hearty laugh!

 
(Later, she’s the one who would sometimes walk in and offer to scrub my back down while I was in the shower. And even though I’d politely decline, I appreciated the intention behind it … she knew how to get things done!)
 

•  Nadereh, the most lighthearted and energetic, had a heart for young children, baby animals, and sparkly trinkets she loved to collect!

 
(Later, she would ask me all kinds of questions about Mahmoud’s and my life in America and our early days of knowing each other. She also taught me how to frame my face fashionably with a scarf and drape it around my neck just so!)
 

• Badri, the second-born sister and the same age as me, was the most down to earth—a calm and comforting presence with a radiant smile.

 
(She’s the one who would later bring me sweetened mint tea she had brewed for me herself if she noticed me showing even the slightest signs of stomach pangs. She also sewed me a stunning crimson blouse of silk that I wore and wore till I wore it out!)
 

•  And Parvin—independent, free-spoken, and generous of heart—loved communing with nature and its magnificent treasures.

 
(One November, she would take it upon herself to cook a delicious turkey dinner with a “Persian touch” and invite me and all the families, after she learned about an American holiday known as “Thanksgiving.”)
                                                              ***
As you may have picked up from my various blogposts, my road to Iran began with Mahmoud, continued with his family, and extended beyond that!
 
That’s why the first part of my memoir’s title has changed from Road Between Two Hearts to The Road Between Hearts: a lot of hearts ended up on this road besides Mahmoud’s and mine! I hope you will join me in my next blogpost—when the day of the book’s release and other details will finally be announced! (By that time, I might also be able to invite you to explore my newly-designed website!)