My Name Means Fire

“[A] searing debut memoir shares what it was like to grow up with dissociative identity disorder in Iran during the revolution.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review

“A haunting memoir that excavates the weight of names, family mythology, and inherited trauma.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“A revelatory look inside a unique mind.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Transformative … Atash Yaghmaian channels the power of her fiery name to illuminate a path toward hope and healing.”
—Shelf Awareness

“I was riveted by this searing ode to the resiliency of the human psyche, rich in beauty and devastation.”
—Melissa Febos, National Book Critics Circle Award winner and author of Girlhood

“Atash’s writing lives in the strongest softness. Every page was a sensory experience—I could hear, see, and feel every scene … This is a beautiful book.”
—Bassey Ikpi, New York Times best-selling author of I’m Telling the Truth, but I’m Lying

“With an artistry steeped in truth and tenderness, Atash Yaghmaian braids a story of horrors and hope, of ferocious courage and incredible love for her many parts. A triumph.”
—Molly Winter, New York Times best-selling author of More: A Memoir of Open Marriage

“As someone living with DID, I deeply appreciate the courage and vulnerability it takes to share your experience. Atash’s story in My Name Means Fire is raw, brave, and profoundly validating … a compassionate and insightful glimpse into dissociation.”
—Olga Trujillo, author of The Sum of My Parts

“Overflowing with emotional honesty and grace about a condition that’s so misunderstood… . This memoir is full of hope. It’s also an open-hearted invitation to readers: to be kinder to themselves, the way Atash had to learn—through struggle, strength, and deep self-compassion.”
—Christie Tate, New York Times best-selling author of Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life

“Yaghmaian’s dissociative world reads like magical realism. Fascinating, provocative, and deeply personal, My Name Means Fire offers an unconventional perspective that will challenge your thinking on trauma and survival.”
—Nina Darnton, author of A Perfect Mother

Atash Yaghmaian is a writer and psychotherapist whose stories and articles about mental health and Iran have appeared in Ms. magazine, the New York Daily News, The Mighty, and Thrive Global, among others. Born in Tehran, Atash migrated to the United States alone at the age of 19, fleeing war, trauma, and abuse.

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