What leaving my family’s Baha’i faith taught me about love and life

Brisbane teacher and author, Sita Walker on the strong, religious matriarchs who have helped her weather the storm of family tragedy, divorce and the beauty of a new love.

Sita grew up in Toowoomba in Queensland, descended from five powerful women — three aunts, her grandmother and her mum.

They were Baha’i women who came to Australia via Iran and India.

Tragedy struck the family when Sita was a child, and her matriarchs descended on the home — to cook, clean, and comfort.

Sita always saw herself as good Baha’i girl, and she went on to marry a good Baha’i boy and start a family. 

When things started to unravel, Sita found herself drifting away from her nightly prayers and accounting for her deeds, and it took a divorce and a new love for her to admit to herself, and her parents, how things had changed.

This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison.

It explores faith, grief, religion, Baha'i, grandmothering, losing a sibling, evil eye, Queenslander, youth camp, marrying young, nightly prayers, falling in love, leaving religion, girl dinner, fiction writing, being a teacher, high school teacher, Mary Oliver and poetry.

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