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My Father's Paradise

A Son's Search For His Family's Past

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About this listen

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography

"Sabar offers something rare and precious - a tale of hope and continuity that can be passed on for generations." (Publishers Weekly (Starred Review))

In a remote corner of the world, forgotten for nearly three thousand years, lived an enclave of Kurdish Jews so isolated that they still spoke Aramaic, the language of Jesus. Mostly illiterate, they were self-made mystics and gifted storytellers and humble peddlers who dwelt in harmony with their Muslim and Christian neighbors in the mountains of northern Iraq. To these descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, Yona Sabar was born.

Yona's son Ariel grew up in Los Angeles, where Yona had become an esteemed professor, dedicating his career to preserving his people's traditions. Ariel wanted nothing to do with his father's strange immigrant heritage - until he had a son of his own.

Ariel Sabar brings to life the ancient town of Zakho, discovering his family's place in the sweeping saga of Middle-Eastern history. This powerful book is an improbable story of tolerance and hope set in what today is the very center of the world's attention.  

©2008 Ariel Sabar (P)2021 Tantor Cultural & Regional Emigration & Immigration Judaism Social Sciences Middle East
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History of Kurdish Jews and the struggle between old world and new world. How often past limits us to progress further and at the same time not knowing your history and belonging drags us down

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I recently read My Father’s Paradise and, as a Turkish woman who grew up in the northwest of Turkey—nowhere near Zakho—and immigrated to England in my youth, I found the story both deeply relatable and incredibly moving. Ariel Sabar is a truly gifted writer. I especially loved the parts about language, tradition, and religious history—particularly the focus on Aramaic, which I find absolutely fascinating. The way he captured the intergenerational experience and the tension between preserving identity and adapting to a new world really resonated with me. I couldn’t recommend it more.

Deeply Human & So Well Told – Highly Recommend

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