Reading Nafisi at the YMCA

Abstract

I can remember the exact moment when everything changed—when the unrelated bits and pieces from a lifetime of reading suddenly shifted, rearranged themselves, and fell into unexpected place. It was as if I had twisted the smooth, round barrel of a kaleidoscope and watched as the individual shards of color dissolved and then resolved into a new and unexpected pattern. And yet, even now, I am still a little disappointed, because it hardly seemed the right place for such a revelatory moment. There’s always something going on at the Lakewood Family YMCA, but it’s hardly the ideal spot for an epiphany.