You're No Stranger Here

Book excerpt: The old saying, "It takes a village to raise a child" rings true in this bona fide autobiography. Houshang Moradi Kermani grew up in the village of Srich to become Iran's eminent author of fiction for children and young adults. These are the stories he lived there and they became the inspiration for his works. With a father who suffers from mental illness and a mother who died in his infancy, young "Hooshoo" is challenged at a very early age to overcome emotional strains and find his true identity. His love for reading and writing becomes his tool for survival through the pains of growing up. He spends a blissful and nostalgic youth in the village and moves to the city of Kerman in his adolescence. Each and every experience guides his destiny in some way and leads him to the place in life that he knew he was meant to reach.