Purgatorium

About the Book

Adam has an intriguing story. On the surface, he lives a normal life as a successful self-made businessman living in an upscale part of Plano, north of Dallas. But what most of his friends don’t know is that he guards a few secrets about his past. These are his demons. He comes from a middle-class Iranian family who had formerly lived in the States during the Woodstock era. That’s when he fell in love with America. Right before the Iranian revolution, he is sent back to the States at age sixteen to finish high school and continue his higher education. A couple of years after the revolution, he returns to visit and gets stuck in the turbulence of post-revolution Iran, and the Iran-Iraq war. For many, the country goes into a practical lockdown, and the airports are all but shut down. Once his efforts to either return to the US or stay and adapt to life in Tehran prove to be fruitless, he decides to cross the border illegally into Turkey to get back to his life in America. In the process, he goes through the adventures of border crossing, imprisonment, persecution, and spends over a year in transit, mainly in Istanbul and Paris. Upon his return to the US, he begins to adjust to juggling school, work, and relationships. But shortly after his return, we learn about the tragedy that takes away his parents and leaves him and his brothers struggling to figure a way to survive the mayhem. They strive to excel in life and the ever-changing, fast-paced trends of life in eighties and nineties to get ahead. But in the aftermath of 9/11 and the events that affect his prospering business in 2003, things change drastically—which is where our story begins really!

About the Author

P. G. Ghassemi was born in Tehran during the heydays of Iran’s modernization and development into becoming a world power. His mom was a scholar, and his father rose to high ranks in the Imperial Armed Forces, which was the reason his family first came to the United States when he was very young. He continued his education in the States in the fields of psychology and business and has never really stopped learning. His passion for literature started as early as age five when he was given his first book, The Little Red Hen, and he was composing poetry as early as nine years old. He has resided in North Texas since 1984, which is where he lives today with his beloved wife of twenty-some years and their three children. Professionally, with over thirty years of experience in senior-level business development, investments, and consulting coupled with the educational credentials, Six Sigma, and 360 Degree Leadership certifications, PG has been dedicated to assisting clients through time-tested strategies that begin with a comprehensive understanding of their goals, targets, and qualifications. From this vantage point, PG has always gained a competitive edge in today’s business world with highly effective insight and strategies. Personally, PG’s utmost goal and dedication is to educate his children, whom he cherishes most in life, as best as he can and to help them find their own purpose in life as a parent should.