Born in the heart of Tehran, Karan Sotoodeh is the son of a veterinarian and the grandson of renowned Iranian author and academic, Manouchehr Sotoodeh-a driving force in Karan's life who inspired him to be the best he could be. In Bittersweet: The Experiences of an Iranian Living in Norway, Sotoodeh retraces his life from being a toddler in his grandfather's arms, through a childhood of carefree afternoons spent playing football and heeding warnings of incoming Iraqi rockets, to college and military service in Iran, graduate school in Scotland, marriage and a divorce in Iran, and immigration and ten years in Norway. Sotoodeh provides rich, vivid details and historical information about Iran and other places he has travelled and lived, portions of Persian literature near and dear to his heart, and tie-ins to contemporary films. This is the story of a man who decided what to do with his life at five years old and systematically set out to accomplish every goal. He loved and lost, gave freely and had things forcibly taken from him, and fought his inner demons. In doing so, he found the sweetest things of all: Love, inner strength, and a determination to always move forward in life. Karan Sotoodeh is an Iranian author and engineer, who has worked in the oil and gas industry for almost sixteen years. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in safety and reliability in mechanical engineering at the University of Stavanger in 2021.

Karan has written nine academic books and more than thirty papers in peer-reviewed journals. He has also presented at international conferences.