Jumping through Fires

Jumping through Fires is an interesting title, isn’t it? The subtitle makes it even more interesting: The Gripping Story of One Man’s Escape from Revolution to Redemption. Then, lower on the cover, under the author’s name (David Nasser), is written: An Iranian Exile and Former Muslim.

Well, how on earth could I not grab this book off the library shelf? I had to.

Nasser is a compelling author, telling the story of his family’s escape from the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970’s. It’s a scary story,especially since it's told from the perspective of a nine-year-old boy. He then tells of the difficulties of adjusting to American life - the story of Iranian immigrants coming to America at the worst possible moment.

This book is honest and forthright. Nasser tells us not only about the difficulties, the moves, the inability to fit in at school, but also about his mistakes, his choices, and the consequences of those choices.

It’s the story of his journey of faith, of alienating his parents, of doing really stupid things and learning from his mistakes. It’s the story of falling in love with an American girl, of carefully rebuilding a relationship with his parents.

It sounds rather unexciting when I write about it. But in Nasser’s words, it’s worth reading.