MARY TERZIAN

CUTV News Radio Spotlights Mary Terzian,

Author of ‘Politically Homeless’

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Show date: Monday, January 22 at 3pm EST 

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Hacienda Heights, CA – The immigrant’s story is always a fascinating one. What could make someone uproot their life and leave their homeland for a strange new place?  For Mary Terzian, book author and freelance writer, it was for the chance to have the full life she hoped for as a woman; a meaningful career and a college education.

 

Born into an immigrant family (migrated from Armenia) in Egypt, Ms. Terzian has written two award winning memoirs in English about her life. Both have been well received by the press (Kirkus Reviews, Writer’s Weekly, The Sunday New York Times Book Review, and others) and led her to become an in-demand speaker. As one Amazon.com reviewer of her latest memoir Politically Homeless, states “Terzian’s book reflects the universal struggles of immigrants who have lost their homeland and have to re-start life elsewhere.” Her story is an inspiration to girls and women everywhere. She has also been featured in Marquis Who’s Who, yet she remains soft and humble. “I never advertise myself but still get recognition,” she says.

 

Terzian’s books are genuine, her personal story as a woman born at a time when “a girl did not leave home till she had a ring on her finger.” Women were not expected to go to college or want more out of life. Higher education was considered superfluous for a woman destined to be a housewife. Although Ms. Terzian was the top-of-her-class in school, and could have easily acquired a scholarship, her parents forbade her to attend college. Ir was the prevalent attitude then, in the 1950s. She dared to move on.

 

Mary Terzian began a career as a secretary but didn’t want to settle for that. Sister Visitation at her High School taught the students “Don’t ever say never when you encounter a roadblock Face it with I can, and I will.” It’s a motto she continues to live by.

 

Terzian eventually secured a position with the United Nations in Alexandria which enabled her to quit home honorably. After a few years, thanks to her knowledge of French, she was assigned to the UN Operations in The Congo. This latter assignment enabled her to travel extensively in three continents, and gain the experiences that she relates, like the story of eating crocodile meat for dinner or flying with chickens.

 

Ms. Terzian’s biography mentions how she grew up surrounded by rich languages like Arabic, Turkish and Greek, in addition to her own Armenian tongue, and the French and English of her primary education. These languages cultivated her love of words. Her first memoir, The Immigrant’s Daughter focuses on early life, cultural roots, and aspirations. Politically Homeless takes the story forward to her arrival in The U.S. (with the support of the American Embassy in Beirut). That was back in 1967. She since achieved her dream of a college education (at California State University in Los Angeles, with a BS in Business Administration.) Writing remained a sideline until retirement, when she found time for her true calling.

 

Politically Homeless was published by Author House. The front cover says a lot about her five-year odyssey across three continents. The exceptional experiences, related in Terzian’s unique voice, make for an exciting read.

 

CUTV News Radio will spotlight Mary Terzian in an interview with Doug Llewelyn on January 22nd at 3pm EST.

 

Listen to the show on BlogTalkRadio.

 

If you have questions, call our guest line at 347-996-3389 or contact CUTV News Radio on 631-850-3314.

 

Terzian is a member of the Writers Club of Whittier. She keeps a blog at Authorsden.com and contributes articles to her club available on the Writers Club of Whittier website. She is active on Facebook and LinkedIn.