About the Book: Female Life on Planet Earth
When Hetis mother, Ana, dies, she leaves behind a lifetime of unconditional
love, immigrant grit, and an impeccable retail sales record at Diamonds-R-Us.
But a mysterious package upends everything: a collection of photographs of Ana
as a young woman-armed, robed in the garb of Muslim fundamentalism, pointing a
gun at sobbing women and posing beside burning buildings-reveals a life Heti
never imagined.
With these images come staggering questions: who was Ana before America, and
what has Heti inherited? Rather than ask them, Heti spends the year quietly
mourning, walking about Los Angeles and listening to the