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Portrait of Leslie Ahmadi
Author spotlight

Leslie Ahmadi

Author of The Road Between Hearts

Dr. Leslie Ahmadi, a Ph.D. in foreign language and culture education, evolved from a Spanish professor to a cross-cultural educator and coach after falling in love with an Iranian man and a life-changing journey in post-revolutionary Iran. Fluent in both English and Spanish and conversant in Persian, Leslie's experiences and cultural explorations span academic, corporate, and nonprofit spheres.

Her memoir, 'The Road Between Hearts: A Memoir of a Black American Woman Discovering Iran,” captures the profound intercultural, interracial, and interfaith experiences that touched her, challenged her, and expanded her vision. A lifelong learner, teacher, and storyteller by nature, Leslie offers unique insights into navigating unfamiliar territories and the powerful, humbling path of cultural exploration.

In addition to writing and speaking about navigating across differences, Leslie finds pleasure in writing for children, traveling domestically and internationally, eating delicious dishes from all over, playing a meditative game of chess, and singing songs from diverse traditions. Her next goal is to learn to sing and play folk songs in Persian!

Published by Muse Literary

in
The book
Cover of The Road Between HeartsThe Road Between HeartsRelationships & FamilyMemoirHere's the story of a Black American language and culture professor who is too ashamed to admit she is terrified of moving to post-revolutionary Iran with her husband. Nevertheless, she packs up her life in Columbus, Ohio, and ventures off to her husband's homeland with him and their one-year-old daughter in 1992. In her first two weeks, the "morality police" stop her for wearing stockings that aren't black enough, and she is herded to the back of a bus whose passengers are segregated by gender. Did she make a terrible mistake, as she had feared? But then... she spots a framed photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X smiling down on her from her in-laws' wall. There's the moment when an unexpected treasure from her devout Muslim in-laws is slipped into her hand. And the delicious aromas of saffron rice and cardamom tea do not escape her. That's when she begins to experience Iran and its people as having all the color, glamour, and humor she had secretly feared she would have to give up-but not without the complications, challenges, and contradictions that come with living in a new culture. A cross-cultural memoir and a love story, The Road Between Hearts is Leslie Powell Ahmadi's account of her intercultural, interracial, and interfaith journeys-and the new pair of eyes she develops as a result!Here's the story of a Black American language and culture professor who is too ashamed to admit she is terrified of moving to post-revolutionary Iran with her husband. Nevertheless, she packs up her life in Columbus, Ohio, and ventures off to her husband's homeland with him and their one-year-old daughter in 1992. In her first two weeks, the "morality police" stop her for wearing stockings that aren't black enough, and she is herded to the back of a bus whose passengers are segregated by gender. Did she make a terrible mistake, as she had feared? But then... she spots a framed photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X smiling down on her from hNo reviews yetOpen the book
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In the press

Press coverage of Leslie Ahmadi · The Literary Hive