After living and working in Chicago for two decades as a teacher at Northwestern University while practicing pediagtric dentistry, Zoe moved to California in 2000 to become a full time writer. One of her books, “Sky of Red Poppies” won 2nd place in this year’s San Diego Book Awards.
“My parents picked the name Zohreh for their seventh child and, with love and respect to their memory, I honored that for the first half of this life. On the second half, friends simplified my name to Zoe.
“While Zohreh is the Persian name of the brightest and longest lasting star of the night – Venus – Zoe in Greek simply means life. Had I been given a choice at birth, I think I would have favored my new name. Not only is it short, uncomplicated, and easy to remember, I think overall it suits me best. Indeed, while stardom is the furthest from me, life is what I am all about.
“The daughter of a tribal man from Khorasan, Rafi Khan Khazai, I became a Ghahremani when I married my husband of thirty years, Gary – whose name is also an abbreviation of his given name, Ghahreman. We have three children, Lilly is a lawyer and business executive, Susan – who prefers to be called Susie – is a great artist and Cyrus is a musician. They alone make life interesting and definitely worth living.
“Having abandoned the career of Children’s Dentistry, both in Practice and years of teaching at Northwestern University, it no longer matters if people call me Doctor G. or Dr. K. or doctor anything. I am simply Zoe: a writer, an artist, a gardener. No matter how short life may be, I intend to discover its width and celebrate all it has to offer.”
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