After the turmoil of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Dashtgard's life drastically changed. She and her mixed-race Iranian family immigrated first to a tiny village in England, then to Birmingham, finally settling in small-town Alberta, Canada. Viewed as an outsider, Dashtgard was bullied and shunned by classmates and adults alike. Her once prominent father grudgingly learned to accept his marginalized condition in a sea of middle-class Christian whiteness on the Canadian prairies, where Dashtgard, with her unruly curly hair, English accent, and ""bossy"" nature, felt that she was, indeed, drowning in white. She writes with great candor about the violence and isolation of her immigrant life as her difference was viewed as a threat by the dominant culture. She struggled with body image issues that culminated in bulimia and bouts of depression. Later, she found solace and purpose in political activism before learning to choose authenticity over superficial acceptance. This is a beautifully written, sensitive memoir fraught with painful memories but also touched by hope, an illuminating meditation on finding your own voice and identity in a new land.--June Sawyers Copyright 2010 Booklist