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My Name Means Fire

A Memoir

Author Atash Yaghmaian
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Hardcover
$26.95 US
Beacon Press
5.79"W x 8.81"H x 0.91"D   | 13 oz | 12 per carton
On sale Oct 14, 2025 | 248 Pages | 9780807020722
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“I was riveted by this searing ode to the resiliency of the human psyche, rich in beauty and devastation.”—Melissa Febos, author of Girlhood

An unflinching and stunning debut memoir of an Iranian girl’s coming-of-age experiencing abuse, war, and superstition—and her survival through dissociative identity disorder, which offered her an inner world into which she could escape

When she was a child, Atash Yaghmaian’s home life was unpredictable: a confusing mix of love and terror. Outside of her home, Iran was also on fire. Her reality of abuse, war, gender oppression, and religious superstition left her feeling unsafe everywhere. So, she left reality and disassociated into a place she called the House of Stone: a building in a magical forest full of peaceful creatures, kind talking trees, and volcanoes. Inhabiting this world are 9 beings, each different parts of Atash, who would be her salvation from the external horrors of her outer world.

Set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime, and the 8-year Iran-Iraq War, My Name Means Fire is Atash’s story of survival as she experiences tragic events including sexual abuse, a mother who subjected her to superstitious rituals, and the horrors of war. In chapters alternating with what’s happening in her outside world, her other parts—each named after a color—tell the story of her inner world, giving readers an understanding of what it’s like to be inside the consciousness of someone who is multiple.

Honest, powerful, and moving, My Name Means Fire is a bold narrative that challenges the stigma and misinformation around dissociative identity disorder (DID) and ultimately reckons with what it takes to survive.
“[A] searing debut memoir shares what it was like to grow up with dissociative identity disorder in Iran during the revolution.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review

“A haunting memoir that excavates the weight of names, family mythology, and inherited trauma.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“A revelatory look inside a unique mind.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Transformative . . . Atash Yaghmaian channels the power of her fiery name to illuminate a path toward hope and healing.”
—Shelf Awareness

“I was riveted by this searing ode to the resiliency of the human psyche, rich in beauty and devastation.”
—Melissa Febos, National Book Critics Circle Award winner and author of Girlhood

“Atash’s writing lives in the strongest softness. Every page was a sensory experience—I could hear, see, and feel every scene . . . This is a beautiful book.”
—Bassey Ikpi, New York Times best-selling author of I’m Telling the Truth, but I’m Lying

“With an artistry steeped in truth and tenderness, Atash Yaghmaian braids a story of horrors and hope, of ferocious courage and incredible love for her many parts. A triumph.”
—Molly Winter, New York Times best-selling author of More: A Memoir of Open Marriage

“As someone living with DID, I deeply appreciate the courage and vulnerability it takes to share your experience. Atash’s story in My Name Means Fire is raw, brave, and profoundly validating . . . a compassionate and insightful glimpse into dissociation.”
—Olga Trujillo, author of The Sum of My Parts

“Overflowing with emotional honesty and grace about a condition that’s so misunderstood. . . . This memoir is full of hope. It’s also an open-hearted invitation to readers: to be kinder to themselves, the way Atash had to learn—through struggle, strength, and deep self-compassion.”
—Christie Tate, New York Times best-selling author of Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life

“Yaghmaian’s dissociative world reads like magical realism. Fascinating, provocative, and deeply personal, My Name Means Fire offers an unconventional perspective that will challenge your thinking on trauma and survival.”
—Nina Darnton, author of A Perfect Mother
Atash Yaghmaian is a writer and psychotherapist whose stories and articles about mental health and Iran have appeared in Ms. magazine, the New York Daily News, The Mighty, and Thrive Global, among others. Born in Tehran, Atash migrated to the United States alone at the age of 19, fleeing war, trauma, and abuse. She blogs at atashyaghmaian.com.
Atash Yaghmaian View titles by Atash Yaghmaian
Letter to the Reader

1. My Name Means Fire

2. Red

3. Children of the Revolution

4. Blue

5. My Heroin-Addicted Uncle Becomes My Babysitter

6. Orange

7. Heaven On Earth

8. Green

9. Words and Rivers

10. White

11. All About My Suitors

12. Gray

13. Her & Him

14. Scarlet

15. Rock Bottom

16. Burgundy

17. From Rugs to Riches

18. Black

19. The Far Island

Epilogue
Acknowledgments

About

“I was riveted by this searing ode to the resiliency of the human psyche, rich in beauty and devastation.”—Melissa Febos, author of Girlhood

An unflinching and stunning debut memoir of an Iranian girl’s coming-of-age experiencing abuse, war, and superstition—and her survival through dissociative identity disorder, which offered her an inner world into which she could escape

When she was a child, Atash Yaghmaian’s home life was unpredictable: a confusing mix of love and terror. Outside of her home, Iran was also on fire. Her reality of abuse, war, gender oppression, and religious superstition left her feeling unsafe everywhere. So, she left reality and disassociated into a place she called the House of Stone: a building in a magical forest full of peaceful creatures, kind talking trees, and volcanoes. Inhabiting this world are 9 beings, each different parts of Atash, who would be her salvation from the external horrors of her outer world.

Set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime, and the 8-year Iran-Iraq War, My Name Means Fire is Atash’s story of survival as she experiences tragic events including sexual abuse, a mother who subjected her to superstitious rituals, and the horrors of war. In chapters alternating with what’s happening in her outside world, her other parts—each named after a color—tell the story of her inner world, giving readers an understanding of what it’s like to be inside the consciousness of someone who is multiple.

Honest, powerful, and moving, My Name Means Fire is a bold narrative that challenges the stigma and misinformation around dissociative identity disorder (DID) and ultimately reckons with what it takes to survive.

Praise

“[A] searing debut memoir shares what it was like to grow up with dissociative identity disorder in Iran during the revolution.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review

“A haunting memoir that excavates the weight of names, family mythology, and inherited trauma.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“A revelatory look inside a unique mind.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Transformative . . . Atash Yaghmaian channels the power of her fiery name to illuminate a path toward hope and healing.”
—Shelf Awareness

“I was riveted by this searing ode to the resiliency of the human psyche, rich in beauty and devastation.”
—Melissa Febos, National Book Critics Circle Award winner and author of Girlhood

“Atash’s writing lives in the strongest softness. Every page was a sensory experience—I could hear, see, and feel every scene . . . This is a beautiful book.”
—Bassey Ikpi, New York Times best-selling author of I’m Telling the Truth, but I’m Lying

“With an artistry steeped in truth and tenderness, Atash Yaghmaian braids a story of horrors and hope, of ferocious courage and incredible love for her many parts. A triumph.”
—Molly Winter, New York Times best-selling author of More: A Memoir of Open Marriage

“As someone living with DID, I deeply appreciate the courage and vulnerability it takes to share your experience. Atash’s story in My Name Means Fire is raw, brave, and profoundly validating . . . a compassionate and insightful glimpse into dissociation.”
—Olga Trujillo, author of The Sum of My Parts

“Overflowing with emotional honesty and grace about a condition that’s so misunderstood. . . . This memoir is full of hope. It’s also an open-hearted invitation to readers: to be kinder to themselves, the way Atash had to learn—through struggle, strength, and deep self-compassion.”
—Christie Tate, New York Times best-selling author of Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life

“Yaghmaian’s dissociative world reads like magical realism. Fascinating, provocative, and deeply personal, My Name Means Fire offers an unconventional perspective that will challenge your thinking on trauma and survival.”
—Nina Darnton, author of A Perfect Mother

Author

Atash Yaghmaian is a writer and psychotherapist whose stories and articles about mental health and Iran have appeared in Ms. magazine, the New York Daily News, The Mighty, and Thrive Global, among others. Born in Tehran, Atash migrated to the United States alone at the age of 19, fleeing war, trauma, and abuse. She blogs at atashyaghmaian.com.
Atash Yaghmaian View titles by Atash Yaghmaian

Table of Contents

Letter to the Reader

1. My Name Means Fire

2. Red

3. Children of the Revolution

4. Blue

5. My Heroin-Addicted Uncle Becomes My Babysitter

6. Orange

7. Heaven On Earth

8. Green

9. Words and Rivers

10. White

11. All About My Suitors

12. Gray

13. Her & Him

14. Scarlet

15. Rock Bottom

16. Burgundy

17. From Rugs to Riches

18. Black

19. The Far Island

Epilogue
Acknowledgments

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