Big Dreams Small Suitcase

This is a story of dreamers who start from scratch with hope of living a better life. Darya has learned from her immigrant mother that once we are finally able to truly envision our dreams, they start to gain power. When an older Darya decides to say goodbye to everything she has accomplished in her past and restart her life, she realizes that to achieve her dreams, she needs to help others reach their dreams too. The more she helps others, the lighter she feels – and the lighter she feels, the higher she goes. The question then becomes, who is helping who? This is an unforgettable book that explores the cyclical life journey that is common to anyone who has, willingly or unwillingly, decided to restart their life, take a risk, and experience the unknown.

"Big Dreams, Small Suitcase" is an unforgettable story that shares how life journeys are either linear or circular. The linear ones start from a point and gradually move straight forward, until they reach the end. The circular ones start from a point as well, but they move within a roundabout instead, eventually reaching their starting point once more and restarting their journey again.

Maryam Ebrahimi was born in Iran and immigrated to America over 20 years ago. She studied Industrial Design as an undergrad and received a Master's Degree in Art Research. Before coming to the US, Maryam taught at an art university in Iran and used to write her own works and edit the works of others in her native language, Farsi.

Maryam currently lives in California and works as a business consultant at a major financial institution. In her free time, she enjoys both interior and landscape design. This book is Maryam's first experience expressing her thoughts in a language that is not her native tongue. It is meant to showcase a common experience known to immigrants across the globe.

To learn more about Maryam and her work, visit ebrahimimaryam.com. Farshid M. Amani studied Industrial Design as an undergraduate and master's student in Iran. Before becoming an illustrator, he worked in graphic design and exhibition design for a multitude of companies.
For this story, he began by focusing on composition and structure, ensuring that the layout of the images truly aligned with the emotions of the story before fine-tuning the drawings themselves.
The simplicity of his monochrome images allow for the idea behind each image to be brought to the fore. When Farshid does chose to bring in color, it is chosen with deliberation and truly adds meaning to the image. Although he has utilized a wide range of styles throughout his career, Farshid was able to work closely with the author to bring this story to life exactly as the author envisioned it. To see more of Farshid's work, visit mohsenamani.com