Aida Zilelianis a first generation American-Armenian writer and educator. She is the author ofThe Legacy of Lost Things, recipient of the 2014 Tololyan Literary Award. Aida has been featured on NPR,The Huffington Post,Kirkus Reviews, andPoets & Writers. Her short story collection,These Hills Were Meant for You, was shortlisted for the 2018 Katherine Anne Porter Award. She lives in Queens, New York.
""All the Ways We Lied is an exquisitely-told family story, a jewel box filled with unique prismatic characters, luminescent in its exploration of love and betrayal among three Armenian American sisters and their cataclysmic mother. Aida Zilelian masterfully navigates their complex, interconnected emotions with compassionate precision as the women alternately confront and turn away from the disappointments in their lives, as they reach for each other even as they struggle to find their own way. Ultimately a story of bravery during a time of grief, All the Ways We Lied will draw you in to vulnerable moments across continents and cultures, leading you to the most tender, comforting, and insightful definition of the word 'home.'"" —Nancy Agabian, The Fear of Large and Small Nations ""At last! A terrific novel about a modern-day Armenian family, fraught with the chaos, capriciousness, and conflicts you can find in Armenian families and beyond, bringing to mind the best parts of Lahiri's The Namesake, Tan's The Joy Luck Club and a twist of Franzen's The Corrections. Zilelian's memorable work challenges the taboos of traditional cultures with unflinching honesty. At the same time, she measures the breadth and depths of kinship, self-sacrifice and ultimately the sense of autonomy. A must-read exploration of familial love and heartache."" —Arthur Nersesian, author of The Fuck-Up ""Reading Aida Zilelian’s clear-eyed and captivating new novel – All the Ways We Lied – reminds me, once again, that specificity is universal, and that strong storytelling is anchored to our core humanity. Page after poignant page, I found echoes of my own life in the characters of Kohar, Lucine, Azad, and the entire Garabedian clan. This panoramic family tale cuts to the heart of what it means to forgive each other and, ultimately, ourselves."" —Jared Harél, author of Let Our Bodies Change the Subject, Winner of the Raz/Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry