Fae Bidgoli

About Fae Bidgoli

Fae Bidgoli, slated to become a child bride herself in Iran at the age of 13, managed to escape her fate by a combination of defiance, courage, and luck. However, she entered a forced marriage at age 17. Born and raised in Iran, Fae left the country during the Iranian revolution in 1978 as a young adult, hoping to find in the United States the freedom she longed for throughout childhood and adolescence. Fae shows how strength and courage can help stamp out inequality and cultural abuse of women. Now a successful entrepreneur with a master’s degree in Economics, a published author, public speaker, and a world traveler, she writes and speaks out to create awareness about the suffering caused by forced child marriages.

Read our review of her latest novel, My Mother’s Pain, here.

BOOKS:

Cracked Pomegranate (2005)

The Twisted Path Home (2010)

The Cruel Silence (2012)

My Mother’s Pain (2020) 

Your biggest literary influences: 

Alice Walker and Jane Austen — Alice Walker is one of my favorite authors. I loved The Color Purple because the main character, Celie writes painful letters to God during the early 1900’s when there was so much struggle and injustice in her life. It reminded me of my own life, when I was thirteen my father wanted me to get married to a man that he chose. I hid in the attic of our home and wrote letters to God for help. I was writing letters to God everyday, since the injustice for girls and women was extreme in the village I grew up in. We had no voice nor choice in our existence. As women, we were considered second-class citizens. I wrote about my life in the village in my book, Cracked Pomegranate. 

Last book read:

Mind Over Medicine by Lissa Rankin, MD

The book that changed your life:

Secrets of Aboriginal Healing by Gary Holz 

I have been to Australia many times. When I came across the Secret of Aboriginal Healing book, I couldn’t resist reading it. Gary Holz was an award winning Hyssicist who had multiple sclerosis and was confined to a wheelchair. He took a trip to Australia, and practiced the ancient Aboriginal healing power of the body, mind and spirit there. When he returned to the U.S., he left his wheelchair behind in Australia and was able to walk.  

When I was in Iran during my childhood, my dream was to write. However, my life took a different path, and writing wasn’t part of it. After reading the book, my passion for writing took over, and I retired from my career. And through my writing, I am giving a voice to the of child brides and abused women who keep silent. 

Your favorite literary character:

Eleanor Dashwood in the book Sense and Sensibility always spoke with politeness, and with a deep sense of understanding of other’s needs, in spite of her own suffering and extreme hardship. Her character was very familiar to me. I could understand her pain. I could relate to her suffering. Because when I was growing up in a village in Iran, girls didn’t have a voice nor choice, and always needed to be polite and behave in a proper manner. If a girl loved someone, they could not express it, because their parents would make the decision on whom their husband would be. And often arranged marriages were determined based on social status, or financial security. 

Currently working on:

I’m currently working on my fifth book, a memoir.

Words to live by:

When you encounter obstacles, and giving your best is not enough, the obstacle is a message to change your direction.

Advice for aspiring authors:

Write from your heart.

Articles

The San Francisco Chronicle reviews The Cracked Pomegranate

Bookpleasure.com posts review of The Twisted Path Home

Readers praise The Cruel Silence

The Crystal Gate – Personal Empowerment offers articles on empowering your life

MyShelf.com reviews The Cracked Pomegranate