An inspiring Iranian is Jasmine Lawi
Jasmine Lawi is a published author, and an attorney.
Jasmine was born in Tehran, Iran in 1977 to a Jewish family. Fearing persecution, she and her family fled Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Jasmine graduated from UCLA in 1999 and Loyola Law School in 2002. In 2003, she passed the California Bar.
She writes: “My journey as a writer begins in 1979 when the Islamic Revolution struck Iran. It was the terrifying “shot heard around the world.”
My parents and many Iranian Jews alike feared religious persecution and a Holocaust. Shortly after, my family courageously left Iran for freedom.
We roamed with great precision and diligence inside the Holy Land (Israel) for 3 arduous months. Thereafter, we made a five year pit stop inside the arctic freeze of Queens, New York before we landed on the seashores of sunny California.
On my 8th Birthday, I bid farewell to our tiny apartment on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. To this day, I make sure to point out every building that I once lived, and there were many!
Just to name a few (and don’t be fooled by their “fancy” names), we lived at the Westwood Versailles. Then, the Wilshire Picasso. From there, the Pink Lady Hotel and after that, the Royal Estina.
We moved because we got evicted, and we got evicted because we were immigrants.
I neatly stowed this in life’s treasure chest of silver linings. Sometimes, life is unfair and people can be mean. Even so, in 1985 we bought our home and stayed forever.
I am proud to say that I grew up in Los Angeles. Establishments such as the Westfield (otherwise known as the “Century City Mall” to us local Angelenos) are actually iconic places where I had my 1st date, 1st kiss, 1st breakup, and of course the 1st spot I drove to when I turned 16.
I am also married and I have a baby. I never dreamed I could have both.
I survived wicked blind dates, only to marry my summer fling and get pregnant soon thereafter. Surely, the Universe has blessed me in tricky ways, and I am very grateful.
As you may know, Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community. Many secretive yet beloved immigrant stories are slowly unraveling and must be heard. One of them, is mine.
“Persian Tea” chronicles my family’s adventures: my father’s dare-devil encounter with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard; an intimate rendezvous with a music legend only after believing I was the FBI’s “Most Wanted;” navigating through the prickly terrain of private school; my close-encounter with danger inside the Vatican; and, intrepid journeys inside Israel, which ultimately changed my luck in life and reshaped my future.
“Persian Tea” is #1 on Amazon’s New Releases! Also, “Persian Tea” is featured in the Nov. 13th 2021 issue of the Los Angeles Jewish Journal.
My husband encouraged me to write “Loving Notes for a Beautiful Life.” He thinks I’m hilarious and quirky, which aren’t usually adjectives used to describe Persian Jews-trust me. He even wants me to dye my hair pink. I haven’t yet. A cat may have nine lives, but my grandmother only has one.
My real-life stories told through my journal reveal the toils of motherhood; the angst of childhood trauma; the sorrow after a shattered friendship; the delight in steamy romance and shame in forbidden love; and, my tenacious faith in God before a dream came true.
I invite you to read my books with an open heart and get ready for a wild journey across the globe!”
