Author Spotlight: The Twisted Path Home by Fae Bidgoli

The Twisted Path Home follows the story of Arezoo, an Iranian-born professor at U.C. Berkeley, as she works to overcome the devastating scars left by her former husband’s abuse. For unknown reasons, Arezoo is haunted by a terrifying dream about her impending death. Tired and frustrated with her lack of progress in therapy, Arezoo tries hypnosis in the hopes of stopping her reoccurring nightmare. While under hypnosis, she begins channeling the dramatic life of Sogand, an Islamic girl living in a village in Persia in the late 1800s, who was forced into an abusive marriage at the young age of 12. The more that is revealed about the life of Sogand, the more Arezoo realizes how much they have in common and that their stories are intertwined.

Read the Reviews!

“The Twisted Path Home ReviewsHere finally, is the 2010 book we’ve all been waiting for…if you loved reading the Celestine Prophecy series, you’re sure to love The Twisted Path Home. In an inspiring journey that takes us from Iran to Berkeley, California, The Twisted Path Home urges us to break free from the intergenerational cycle of pain we experienced in our families — to claim our power to create a new legacy of love. We see that by releasing judgment and fear, we can become a channel for understanding, forgiveness and compassion. Metaphysical principles add to the richness of this timely written adventure, that illuminates the remarkable resilience of the human spirit."

--Jill Lebeau, MFT, Licensed psychotherapist & co-author of Feng Shui Your Mind



Iranian-born author Fae Bidgoli draws upon her experiences growing up in a culture that condones human rights atrocities such as child brides, domestic abuse and stoning in her novels, The Twisted Path Home (Dog Ear Publishing September 2010 1978-1608445172 15.95) and Cracked Pomegranate (Regent Press 2005).

Bidgoli was born in a remote Iranian village into a family that didn’t believe in education for girls, and a community that fanatically followed the Islamic religion.

“My two older sisters were married at age 13 with only a sixth-grade education,” Bidgoli recalls. “In our village, we didn’t have any school for girls. For our elementary schooling, we had to walk almost two miles to another village. I became the rebellious kid because I didn’t want to get married at age 13 to the man my father chose as a husband for me.”

Through her determination, Bidgoli managed to make to her senior year in high school before she was forced to marry. She, her husband and their two daughters emigrated to America on the cusp of the Iranian Revolution, with little knowledge of English and few financial resources. Bidgoli earned a master’s degree in economics from the University of San Francisco and build a successful real estate career. She was also the first woman in her family to get divorced against all odds and family pressure.

Bidgoli is deeply passionate about bringing to light the human rights injustices of child-brides, honor killings and stonings that still occur in the Middle East today. Although coming to America and becoming financially independent gave her the courage to break away from her own forced marriage, she continues to give voice to the pain of the inequality and abuse of women that she witnessed during her life in Iran, which inspires her fiction.

“From the day I was born in lran, I had to fight for everything I achieved in my life, including my education, my career, and my voice as a woman,” Bidgoli says. “Nothing has stopped me from my quest for freedom. Despite all obstacles, I remained focused on the future I knew I could have. Fueled by my faith in God and my innermost belief that women deserve true equality throughout the world, I have held fast.”

Bidgoli currently resides in Oakland, California. Inspired by the success of her first novel, Cracked Pomegranate, Bidgoli sold her real estate company to pursue her writing career full time.

Visit Fae online at http://bidgoli.info/.