The Trees We Carry (forthcoming Spring 2026 from FlowerSong Press)

This book is a semi-autobiographical work by Bahar Momeni with illustrations by Ayana Thiel. It follows an Iranian girl’s decades-long fight for freedom, beginning on her seventh birthday in the shadow of unrest.

The protagonist, Neda—curious, defiant, determined. She comes of age under repression, falls in love with a childhood friend who turns fundamentalist, and is forced to immigrate to the United States in 2010, confronting culture shock and the isolation of life as an international student in Texas.

Her journey moves through the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom uprising and culminates on her 50th birthday in 2029—an act of vigilant hope honoring women’s resilience across generations. Intimate and unflinching, The Trees We Carry is a story of life, loss, and the stubborn work of liberation.