Background

My mother's face brightens when she reminisces about her childhood, recalling the memories she made, the legends she heard, and the people who shaped her along the way. My mother is from the Balkans and, more precisely, from Albania. Seeing her carefree, knowing all she has ever done was work since she could remember, fills me with happiness, too. All we ever wanted from each other is to be happy, and as an Albanian should, proud to be who we are, regardless where we currently live. I started Red Iris to record, and write those memories so they stay with me, and to also share them with those with a similar background to mine. Additionally, as an avid reader, I have started collecting the Balkan classic books my mother would read in her childhood, and I have started reading them and writing reviews on them. To me, books are important, as writing itself is, not only because of the stories they carry, but because I always dreamed of writing something as equally great that will give hope to those reading them in its own way. A little about me is that although my parents were born and raised in Albania, I was not. I never learned the language; I never heard these stories till this year. Hearing her speak about her life before me makes me feel closer to her, and in return, she feels closer to herself.  So, here we both are, on Balkan land, having coffee, as she speaks and as I write.

​