MA

When she came out of her psychotherapist’s office, she would have never imagined that Foojan, her therapist, would prescribe emailing her daily journals as a treatment modality for the experience of a life time dark hole that had sucked her memories and identity. Journaling had now given her permission to write without fear, gilt, and her promise to her mother to never write. Sanam is a 50 years old isolated girl who began sitting with a fishing pole on top of the dark hole to fish out a life time of memories. She began with the stories that were told to her by her mother and grandmother about what women should do to have value and be marriable. Stories of grandma manipulating, dad cheating, and mom hiding began appearing on the monitor until a day that Mina took over when she showed up to Sanam’s home so she could get help from Foojan about her 30 years old marriage that had ended up in Divorce. Mina’s appearance leads the path for other women to walk in Sanam’s illusions. Zeinab, the ghost of a woman from the village who had burned herself came in tell her story of life. JanJan, an elder kind hearted woman who had been prisoned due murdering her husband yearned to convince others about her innocence. Tahmineh, the mythical powerful woman needed to Share about her one night of bride hood with Rostam the mythical powerful hero. And finally Hava (Eve) came with Adam to tell their story of how love has kept them in heaven. Each of the women who were a symbol of a part of Sanam’s fragmented self through written conversations with Foojan were able to integrate and create a powerful Sanam who was able to reveal the secret that created the black hole… The Novel 'MA' , in 301 pages in Persian (Farsi) language, includes 35 emails between Sanam, a fictional character and Foojan, a non-fictional psychotherapist, exploring the path to healing from a fragmented self, identifying the causes of inner fragmentation such as the messages from culture, family and surrounding experiences about the identity of a woman, the myths about intimate relationships, and ways toward creation of healthy intimate relationship, to an integrated and healed self who the power to choose. 'MA' creates a space to take the façade of the veil off and reveal the mirror for an awareness toward middle eastern women’s struggle for her identity, while it draws a leading path toward what is possible.