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This is a discussion topic for the September 2024 Book of the Month, "Odyssey of High Hopes: A Memoir of Adversity and Triumph by Cyrus A. Ansary


What did you like least about Odyssey of High Hopes: A Memoir of Adversity and Triumph by Cyrus A. Ansary?

The one thing that I thought was slightly disappointed over, was that Dr. Ansary didn't give much information about his first wife and their history, experiences, and family. He mentioned that they had children together, and had grown apart. But there must have been a deep story backgrounding that part of the text. Falling in love, experiencing life with someone. Having children with them and the many experiences that that brings. And then, given that they eventually divorced, there must have been pain and challenges in those experiences as well.

But these details largely were left out of the book, which isn't exactly what I would expect from a memoir. But people have things that are personal to them, and if it is something that he didn't want to share, that is perfectly fine. But it could have added a more relatable feel for the book, being able to come alongside the author to walk through that with him.

I think the least liked thing was that he did not talk much about his first marriage and it was a shock that they divorced. I imagined his career was part of the problem, traveling and many new changes.

As I mentioned in my review of this book, I was disappointed in the author's attitude toward women. I understand that was the attitude in the middle east in general. I was just disappointed that even after assimilating to the USA, he still seemed to dismiss the women in his life. In the book he shares very little about any of the women in his life.

What I liked least about this book is its title. Honestly, this discouraged me from reading the book initially. From the title, one can easily conclude the storyline and it depicts one of sadness.

Although I admire the author for all that he overcame and accomplished in his life, I did not like that at times there was an arrogant tone to his narrative.

The thing I liked least was the technical business details that became a bigger and bigger part of the book as it got closer to the ending. I started to get a little bored with that. I also agree that there was a somewhat arrogant tone at times and that there weren’t any women of consequence other than his second wife.

At times, the book felt as though the author was busy trying to prove how many super important people he knew and met with. It just came across as bragging name dropping rather than an interesting read.