In Waiting for Integration, Darian, a married, middle-aged, working mother of two, loses her own mother to a brain aneurysm. The sudden death forces Darian to visit her father in upstate New York and face the painful past she has spent most of her adult life trying to forget. This compelling memoir chronicles Darian’s journey as a small-town teenager with Broadway aspirations who, upon high school graduation, moves to New York City to attend a musical theater academy. However, shortly after moving to the city, Darian finds herself in a violent hostage situation that leaves her with untreated PTSD, as well as a growing mistrust and fear of men. Three years later, when she discovers that her father, an Iranian physician, has been wrongly accused of sexually assaulting three of his female patients, she makes the decision to move back home with her parents and return to college. As the story unfolds, Darian comes to terms with how prejudice and hatred have impacted both her father’s life, as well as her own in different ways. It is in this space of understanding where Darian finds the strength to forgive and ultimately experiences a spiritual awakening.