Assadi was born to a Jewish mother and a Palestinian father.[2] Her father (1943-2022) was born in Safed and fled with his family during the Nakba, living first in Syria and later in Kuwait. He later studied in Perugia, Italy, before moving to New York City, where he worked in the shipping industry and as a taxi driver.[2] Assadi's mother lived in Florala, Alabama, where her family was the only Jewish family in town, before moving to New York City.[2][3] The couple met in Tribeca in the 1983,[2][4] and married the following year.[5]
Assadi was born in New York City, and the family moved to Arizona when she was five.[2] She grew up in Scottsdale,[3] and celebrated both the High Holidays and Eid.[6]
Assadi attended Columbia University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern studies and a master's degree in creative writing.[2]
Assadi wrote her first novel in Paris, although she has said that work will likely never be published.[7]
Assadi's debut novel, Sonora, started as an assignment for her master's degree.[6] It was published in 2017, and received the Rosenthal Family Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters[8] and was a finalist for the PEN/ Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction.[9] It was also positively received by Huffpost,[10]Kirkus Reviews,[11] and Publishers Weekly.[12] In 2018, she was named a National Book Foundation '5 Under 35' honoree.[1][13]
Assadi moved to New York City in the mid 2000s,[7] and lives in Brooklyn as of 2022.[21] She is married and has two children.[4] She has said she is spiritual, but is neither Jewish nor Muslim, as "religion doesn't speak to her".[3][5]
