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News and Reviews
News
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December 1, 2008
Dear Readers:
I am back from India and London, into my den, in a hypnotic reverie, wondering if it was all real, or was it a figment of my imagination. I honestly think twice before crossing the distance from my living room to the kitchen. What prompted me to take such a long trip at a moment's notice is anybody's guess. Mysterious forces sometimes take hold of you, so that you follow your intuitions without paying any heed to logic. That is what happened to my India venture and I am not sorry.
I have been barred, by a declaration on my visa request, from giving out any information on India. Suffice it to say that it was an interesting travel experience. Another segment of the world has opened up in my mind's eye, a huge space that was just a shadow but is now full of life. When I listen to the news, and India is very much at the forefront with the recent disturbances in Mumbai, I see vivid pictures instead of hearing words. This is what travel does to you. It opens up a new segment in your brains that had been shut to the world.
The principal purpose for my trip was not tourism, really, but a pilgrimage to old Armenian churches in India. We visited five of them and celebrated the 300th anniversary, yes, the 300th anniversary of one, in Calcutta. There have always been Armenians outside of Armenia proper. The India community, although small in number, about 3000 at its height, was a node in the merchant chain from Isfahan to the Philippines. Their influence was large, however, even before the East India Company settled in that part of the globe. They were thriving merchants working on the silk route and, at times, collaborating with the Dutch shipping lines as well. The community set up Trust funds for a college, to support the education of the younger generation from other cities in India, as well as from Persia, Armenia and Lebanon. Lately students have been sent from Iraq. Our group included former students who had come to pay homage to their alma mater.
Of particular importance to me was the composition of our group of twentyfour, young and old, give or take a few during different legs of our trip. Our interaction with each other, our moments of laughter and hardship, and the bonds that develop when people live at close quarters for several days made an indelible impression on me. I can safely say that most of my companions shared my feelings. I shudder to think that we could have been victims of aggression now happening in Mumbai, an occurrence not so unfamiliar to me, since I have had a few close encounters with political turmoil before, during, or after my travels.
Oh, well! Life is to be lived, not feared.
Sincerely,
Mary Terzian
Email: Nayri@aol.com
www.Maryterzian.com
Author: The Immigrants' Daughter
Multicultural Non-Fiction memoirs
Winner, Best Books 2006 Award
Finalist, National Indie Excellence 2007 Book Awards
Note: "The Immigrants' Daughter" is sold through www.Booklocker.com, www.BarnesandNoble.com, www.amazon.com and other major online bookstores. It can also be ordered by a brick and mortar bookstore, through Ingram or downloaded from Booklocker.com.
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EXCERPTS FROM BOOK REVIEWS
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Harut Barsamian , Mission Viejo, California, August 2007:
MUST READ . . .The impact of "The Immigrant's Daughter" goes beyond the Armenian-Egyptian bi-cultural environment. The ongoing industrial and economic globalization is creating multicultural societies across the continents. . . Consequently the adaptation of old traditions and cultures with prevailing conditions creates internal strife in families. . . children and subsequent generations could certainly benefit from Mary Terzian's real-life experiences by reading the loud message in her book. . .
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Richard R. Blake Reviews, (San Leandro, CA), June 27, 2006, Amazon.com. (Also in MBR Review, August 2006, Reviewers Bookwatch, Blake's shelf) http://www.midwestbookreview.com
AGAINST ALL ODDS
This is the moving dramatic story of the early life of Mary Terzian. It is told in a first person voice. The story progresses from Mary's birth and preschool through to her young adulthood. Mary Terzian spent her childhood in a community of immigrants in the city of Cairo. These people have been traumatized by genocide and deportation from Historical Armenia under Ottoman rule. This inquisitive young girl's questions go unanswered. She does not understand the "why" behind the disparity in gender roles, the importance of tradition, religious superstitions, and cultural issues . . .
. . .I found myself not wanting to miss a single word of this journey. The author has a unique way of using tongue in cheek humor to lighten the impact of hopelessness. Terzian is a talented writer with a wealth of experience to share. I hope she is working on a sequel to this captivating, heartwarming, and unforgettable book.
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Story Circle Reviews
Books About Women's Lives
http://www.storycircle.org/BookReviews Click "Enter Book Reviews..." at the bottom of the page then click T on alphabetical index for Terzian.
Reviewed by Susan Wittig Albert, Bertram TX
A QUESTION OF IDENTITY
"Where do you come from?" is the first question of Mary Terzian's absorbing memoir . . .a story about personal identity: of shifting cultural contexts within which a young woman must find, and finally create, herself. . .
. . . The book is a good read, a thoughtful presentation of a difficult life's passage, and a richly-colored portrait of Armenian immigrant life in pre- and post-war Egypt.
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Reviewed by Danielle Feliciano for Reader Views (2/06)
“The Immigrant’s Daughter” is the story of Mary Terzian’s childhood in Cairo, Egypt. She is the daughter of immigrants who escaped genocide and settled in Egypt . . .
. . .From the very first page, we are able to see the spark in Ms. Terzian that no doubt helped her surpass many of the barriers she faced in her life . . .
. . . Ms. Terzian did a fine job of sharing her life with the reader. . .reads more like a collection of short stories than it does a traditional biography. . . through her . . . anecdotes, we are treated to an insider’s view of what it was like to grow up in Mary’s world . . .
. . .Mary ultimately triumphs . . .
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MEDIA RELEASE:
________________ October 25, 2006
For Immediate Release
Local Author wins Best Books 2006 Award
Whittier, CA – On Monday, October 16, 2006, USA Book News announced their Best Books 2006 Awards. Mary Terzian, a local resident in Hacienda Heights and member of the Writers’ Club of Whittier, is the winner in the Multicultural Non-Fiction category, for her first book The Immigrants’ Daughter, published by Booklocker.com. Terzian was previously awarded a PEN USA West, Rosenthal scholarship in 2001, while her book was in progress; first prize in Literature in the Armenian Allied Arts Association’s annual contests in 1992 and 1994; and recognition from various organizations for her writing (see under Recognition/Awards). She is a distinguished speaker with a ready sense of humor. “My Toastmasters Club was the back door entry to writing,” she chuckles.
Terzian, of Armenian descent, is fluent in English and calls herself “an imported American”. She lived the first half of her life in Egypt, and arrived in the United States in the 1960s, after spending time in the Republics of Congo and Togo on assignment with the United Nations, and in Lebanon. She is well traveled, sometimes running into complex situations such as the demise of Khrushchev while visiting the Soviet Union in 1964. She lived, studied and worked in New York and Los Angeles, and took advantage of early retirement from a left-brain occupation to pursue writing. Her sideline activities include contributions to ethnic and American newspapers, magazines, books and online publications. She held several offices in professional and service organizations.
The Immigrants’ Daughter is the universal story of a displaced family, victim to ethnic cleansing, going through the phases of acculturation and adaptation with inherent problems of starting a new life in a foreign country. It is “an easy read, not without its humorous moments...” per one reader; “captivating, heartwarming and unforgettable” per Richard R. Blake, in the August 2006 issue of the Midwest Book Review; “a compelling memoir” per Susan Wittig Albert of Story Circle Reviews; and “a fine job... reads more like a collection of short stories...” per Danielle Feliciano of Reader Views. The book has generated five-star ratings on Amazon.com. It is available in paperback in regular or online stores and it is downloadable from the publisher, Booklocker.com.
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Submitted by Sherry Barber
Publicity Director, Writers’ Club of Whittier, Inc
E-mail Sherz88@aol.com
Note: Terzian's "The Immigrants' Daughter" placed finalist in the National Indie Excellence 2007 Book Awards, in the multicultural, non-fiction category.
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