Nine Rubies

In 1990, two mothers sat in a modest kitchen enjoying a spring day and the usual conversation of getting to know someone new. It would turn out that their common passions of family, children, gardening and heritage became the pathway to deeper stories of women's issues, self-determination, and personal struggle. Sue was an American Jewish educator, writer and entrepreneur. Mahru was an Iranian Muslim nurse and counselor. Mahru's stories were powerful, and screamed for a way into the world. While their sons grew, Sue and Mahru met often. Mahru told stories; Sue typed and asked questions. Mahru found the American parallels for her experiences and cultural norms. Sue tried not to impose her perspectives and values onto Mahru's experiences, and to find the universal meaning in the deeply personal recollections. Every question unlocked a new recollection, carefully tucked away. Each story was a metaphor for a larger human struggle for food and shelter, contentment, love, belonging, power and self-determination. As they spoke and wrote over 20 years, stories hidden deep in Mahru's memory emerged and found their way onto the page. They are steeped in personal experiences that were impacted by a shifting political Iran, often influenced by covert American political and economic interventions. This story is ready to tell.