How did the author overcome adversity?

I think the author uses wit and self-discovery to overcome adversity. As she gets older, Firoozeh notices the different perception of Iranians before and after the Iranian revolution; welcomed with open arms before and viewed with suspicion after. As she is fair skinned and speaks English with no accent, Firoozeh decides to change her name to Julie to circumvent having to explain that she is Iranian but not dangerous, and she remains Julie throughout college and into her adult years.

A secular Muslim, Firoozeh is not a person who discriminates by religion and consequently is puzzled by her French mother-in-law's negative reaction to her and the fact she is married to her son, especially since Firoozeh's husband is a secular Catholic. Raised in a very multi-cultural environment, Firoozeh is raising her sons in the same way but leans far more towards her adopted American heritage than her childhood Persian one.

Throughout the book Firoozeh shows herself to be a witty and observant teller of stories and also has a liking for the ridiculous, finding humor in even the things about her family that annoy her.