The Temporary Bride by Jennifer Klinec

The Temporary Bride by Jennifer Klinec is a candid memoir about love, food, and cultural boundaries in contemporary Iran.

When food writer Jennifer Klinec travels to Iran, she enters into a temporary marriage—a legally sanctioned arrangement that allows her to live with a man while exploring the country’s culinary traditions. What begins as a practical solution becomes a deeply revealing journey into intimacy, identity, and cross-cultural understanding.
 
💖 Why You’ll Love It
An honest, unsensationalized look at relationships across cultures
Rich food writing woven naturally into a personal narrative
Thoughtful exploration of intimacy, independence, and ethics
Challenges Western assumptions without romanticizing complexity
🌟 Perfect For
Readers of memoir and narrative nonfiction
Fans of food writing with cultural depth
Readers interested in Iran beyond headlines
Book clubs drawn to discussion-rich, perspective-shifting stories
 
In The Temporary Bride: A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran, Jennifer Klinec recounts her time living in Tehran while researching Iranian cuisine. In order to navigate social and legal restrictions, she enters into a sigheh—a temporary marriage recognized under Iranian law. As Klinec moves through kitchens, markets, and private homes, food becomes both sustenance and entry point into deeper relationships. The memoir examines power, vulnerability, and cultural misunderstanding with clarity and restraint, offering a nuanced portrait of modern Iran through lived experience rather than stereotype. Thoughtful, inquisitive, and quietly bold, this is a memoir about curiosity, connection, and choosing to remain open in unfamiliar terrain.