Author Khaled Hosseini says he has “never been prouder” of his daughter while revealing the 21 year old has come out as transgender.
The best-selling novellist spoke candidly about his daughter Haris’ journey on his social media accounts on Tuesday alongside a black-and-white portrait of her and a snapshot taken of the pair when she was just a toddler.
“Yesterday, my 21-year-old daughter Haris came out to the world as transgender. I have known about Haris’ journey since last year and I’ve watched her navigate some very trying personal times,” The Kite Runner author wrote. “Transitioning is such a complicated undertaking - emotionally, physically, socially, psychologically - but Haris has met each challenge with grace, patience, and wisdom.”
The father of two went ont o say he’s “never been prouder” of his daughter, adding that he is “delighted to now have not one but two beautiful daughters”.
In the emotional post, Hosseini shared that he’s inspired by his daughter’s “fearlessness” and courage in sharing her “true self” with the world. He acknowledged that, while it has not been easy for her, he will be there “every step of the way”.
“She has taught me and our family so much about bravery, about truth. About what it means to live authentically. I know this process was painful for her, fraught with grief and anxiety. She is sober to the cruelty trans people are subjected to daily. But she is strong and undaunted,” he wrote. “I love my daughter. I will be by her side every step of the way, as will our family.”
The Afghan-American author concluded the post describing it as a “privilege” to watch his daughter “enter the world as the beautiful, wise, and brilliant woman that she is”.
“May God bless her,” he added.
Hosseini’s post has been met with an outpouring of comments from fans praising the author’s supportive parenting.
“She’s so lucky to have such a wonderful father,” one person wrote, while another said: “She is beautiful. Congrats to Haris on living her truth and to you for supporting your daughter in her journey.”
“What a beautiful tribute to your beautiful daughter,” someone else wrote.
In addition to Haris, Hosseini, who was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan, before he and his family moved to the US as asylum seekers when he was 11, is also father to daughter Farah.
The author, whose works include the books A Thousand Splendid Suns and And the Mountains Echoed, previously credited his children with making him the writer he is. Hosseini told CNN in 2013 that it wasn’t until he became a parent that he was able to empathise with the decisions made by the characters in his books.
“There is no question that it has transformed and informed my way of writing,” he said.
