Shayda’s Dad, Amir, is an Iranian immigrant. His story is captivating, raw, and full of emotional moments that have been shared recently on a podcast called The Hopeful, on the Frequency Podcast Network.

In total transparency, I didn’t listen to The Hopeful before my conversation with Shayda. I wanted to be able to speak with her entirely about her perspectives on her Dad’s story and what being the daughter of immigrant parents has been like without knowing anything about the story in advance. I wanted my reactions to be as authentic as possible. After we recorded, I downloaded the five episodes that had released up to that point, and sat in on the Watch Party for the finale on Monday. To say I’m blown away by the work that went into this podcast is a massive understatement. I could hardly find the words to describe how quickly I fell into this story and the vulnerable recount of Amir’s life.