Shabnam Curtis is a writer, transformational life coach, and storyteller whose work is deeply rooted in lived experience across cultures, ideologies, and identities. Born and raised in Tehran during the turbulence of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, she grew up under the weight of political repression and inherited silence. In 2004, she immigrated to the United States, entering a new world filled with promise—yet layered with the invisible burdens of adaptation, displacement, and the quiet ache of unresolved memory.

While building what many might call the American Dream—earning a graduate degree, securing a corporate career, and reuniting with her daughter—Shabnam found herself questioning the very idea of fulfillment. Her journey revealed a deeper truth: happiness isn't found in checking the right boxes, but in reclaiming the fragmented parts of ourselves.

Her memoir, My Persian Paradox, became a pivotal point in her life, allowing her to give voice to decades of untold stories, cultural contradictions, and personal reckonings. Through writing, she discovered the transformative power of narrative—not just as a tool of self-expression, but as a path to healing and genuine connection.

That insight led her to become a life coach, where she now works with others to navigate their own complex stories. Drawing from trauma-informed practices, emotional regulation techniques, and a profound belief in human potential, Shabnam helps her clients connect more deeply with their own lives—beyond the surface, beneath the noise. She holds space for inquiry, discomfort, transformation, and joy.

Today, she views the “pursuit of happiness” not as a race toward constant positivity, but as an invitation to wholeness—to live fully within our contradictions, to honor our pain as much as our triumphs, and to grow through relationship, reflection, and love.

Shabnam believes our stories matter. When we dare to share them, we not only liberate ourselves—we offer others the courage to do the same.