Migration, Identity, and Writing in Annahid Dashtgard's Breaking the Ocean: A Memoir of Race, Rebellion, and Reconciliation (2019)

Abstract

In her autobiographical work Breaking the Ocean: A Memoir of Race, Rebellion, and Reconciliation, Annahid Dashtgard narrates different traumatic episodes she experienced in Canada, where she arrived after fleeing her home country in 1979. This chapter attempts to recognize the agency of a writer who develops resilience mechanisms that allow her to survive and thrive in the face of adversity. Moreover, it intends to recognize the value of writing as a mechanism to work through traumatic experiences, to give voice to silenced (hi)stories that might be omitted from mainstream historical accounts, and to achieve social and political transformation.