A Door Between Us

The wedding of Sarah and Ali is a joining of two hearts and two families; it should be a joyous occasion, but the families are feuding and the unrest in Iran 2009 keeps the couple apart just as they are beginning their lives together. Their story is at the heart of Ehsaneh Sadr’s beautiful novel A Door Between Us. As Sarah and Ali are separated, the backstories of their two families begin to take shape. Sarah’s cousin Sadegh, a loyal government supporter is as direct odds with Ali’s sister Azar, a lawyer whose loyalties lie more to the truth and the people than to the cover-ups and lies of the Iranian estate. The split loyalties to the Iranian regime aren’t the only secrets and intrigues of these two families. Sadegh, the adopted son of matriarch Mrs. Mehri, is also torn between loyalty to the family he has always known the birth mother and sister, Mrs. Tabibian and Leila, who enter his life just as the political situation in Iran becomes even more complicated. And, connecting these two families is the terrifying General Heydari, a man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

A Door Between Us is an intriguing and detailed read that explores the culture and a pivotal political moment with which many Americans are not familiar. The book tells a tale of truth, family, and justice with a beautiful love story at its heart.