Today we’d like to introduce you to Haleh Massey.
Hi Haleh, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been writing since elementary school—back when my stories were about turkeys and fleas. Unfortunately, when I went off to university to study psychology, I had to tuck my creative writing dreams into a drawer (alongside my social life and sleep).
After many years of studying, taking exams, and finally completing my dissertation—which was essentially a depressing book without any jokes—I was finally able to return to writing for joy. My sister, Parnaz Foroutan, is a published author of literary fiction, and seeing her bring her stories to life gave me the gentle, sibling-style shove I needed to start working on my own book.
I was lucky enough to connect with my wonderful agent, Heather Cashman at Storm Literary Agency. She championed my debut middle grade graphic novel, Say Something, Poupeh Babaee! (Little Bee) which will be released on August 26, as well as my middle grade novel, My Name is Harriet Mansoor (NOT Hairy Man Suit!, Spring ’26) and its sequel, My Name is Hangameh Mansoor (NOT Harriet Mansoor!) (Lee & Low, Spring ’27).
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My first manuscript? A lot of talking heads and long-winded monologues about my childhood that belonged in a dramatic stage play.
Thankfully, I’ve always been a stubborn mule and was determined not to give up. In the beginning, all my protagonists were white because that’s all I ever read growing up. It never occurred to me that I could write characters who looked like me. My husband/BFF, therapist and author, Christopher Massey aka William DeNoyer, gently reminded me that my voice matters and that I should write about my own experiences as an Iranian immigrant.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist and share a private practice in the suburbs of Los Angeles with my husband. I am extremely proud of my kind, beautiful, intelligent children. I am also extremely proud of my debut middle grade graphic novel, Say Something, Poupeh Babaee! illustrated by the amazingly talented Ghazal Qadri (Little Bee). I wrote this book to bring awareness to the toll immigrating to the United States takes on a child’s mental health. It is loosely based on my own experiences growing up as an awkward Iranian immigrant in the suburbs of Los Angeles as well as the stories I heard from my family members and clients surrounding their experiences with the 2017 Muslim travel ban.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
In an effort to promote myself on social media without having my clients find me, I shadow as Dr. Wood E. Woodchuck, Ph.D, LRAT, LMNOP, a dapper school psychologist—and rodent—at Rodentia Elementary School in Rodentia, USA. You can learn all about Dr. Woodchuck and his various patients at AskDrWoodchuck.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://DrHalehMassey.com
- Instagram: @askdrwoodchuck
- Facebook: Haleh Massey
- LinkedIn: Dr. Haleh Massey
- Twitter: @askdrwoodchuck
- Other: https://AskDrWoodchuck.com
Image Credits
All book illustrations by Ghazal Qadri
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