It’s not every day that a celebrity comes to Brentwood – let alone mingles with the locals.

But last Saturday, author Firoozeh Dumas stopped by the Los Medanos College Brentwood Center to chat with fans about her book “Funny in Farsi: A Memoir Of Growing Up Iranian In America,” which hundreds of East County residents read as part of Brentwood’s annual CityRead program last month.

“Funny in Farsi” chronicles Dumas’ upbringing in the United States and the struggles she faced as an Iranian immigrant. During her presentation, Dumas discussed her childhood, elaborating on stories from her book which detail her challenges to assimilate into American culture after her family immigrated to Southern California when she was 7.

She told the audience of about 80 about what it was like to go to school and not know the language, and how her family used trips to the grocery store to learn about American culture.

“We didn’t know that Americans love cats and dogs but how we figured this out is that in the grocery store there is a whole aisle of food for just cats and dogs,” she said. “There are all these categories, so my dad would say, ‘In my next life, I want to be a dog in America.”

Dumas decided to write down the stories of her childhood as a way to create a book of memories for her children, but as she put pen to paper, she realized that while her stories were often humorous, they contain an underlying truth that although people come from different backgrounds, they have much in common.

“I decided to join a writers group, and what you’d do is read your stories and then the group would critique your work. But for me, when I was done reading, people would raise their hands and say things like ‘Your story about going to camp reminds me of when I was 14 and went to baseball camp.’ Or after I read a story about my uncle Nematollah, someone would say, ‘Your uncle Nematollah – he’s just like my aunt Stella.’ … They didn’t have the same background as me, but they related to my stories.”

The author, who lives in Palo Alto, said she became especially passionate about getting her stories published after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as her book was a way to show a conventional Middle Eastern family living in America. But despite her book’s positive message, literary agents to whom she sent her stories weren’t receptive to the idea.

At her Brentwood appearance, Dumas shared her struggles to get published in a post-9/11 society and how she’d go to any length to get her manuscript in the hands of important people – including the time she approached Ms. Magazine founder Gloria Steinem in a bathroom at the Four Seasons in San Francisco. “I let her wash her hands first, of course.”

It took Dumas months to get an agent, but all the trouble was worth it. “Funny in Farsi” was published in 2003. On Saturday, Dumas proudly announced that her stories were being turned into a TV show for ABC. Barry Sonnenfeld, who directed “Men in Black” and “Get Shorty,” will direct and executive produce the pilot episode early next year.

“They’re auditioning Middle Eastern and Middle Eastern-looking actors for the pilot next week, and I got an e-mail on Facebook and someone said, ‘It’s the first time I’m trying out for something that’s not for the part of Afghani Villager or Terrorist.’ So that’s good, and hopefully it will actually make in on air and there’ll be a show out there about a Middle Eastern person that’s not scary.”

If ABC decides to order more episodes of the show, the series could be on the air as soon as next September.

Following her hour-long presentation, Dumas hung around to sign copies of her second book, “Laughing Without an Accent,” recently released in paperback.

Diane Alexander, secretary of the Friends of the Brentwood Library, which sponsored the event, said she’s been a fan of Dumas for several years and was excited to meet her.

“I have read both her books and really enjoy them,” Alexander said. “She shows how absurd it is to judge people by their nationality or religion without preaching or complaining.”

Mary Lou Klovee, president of the Friends of the Brentwood Library, agreed that the humorous dimension of Dumas’ stories makes them an ideal read. “We received a lot of positive feedback from people who read the book as part of the program. ‘Funny in Farsi’ is a really uplifting story. It’s a story about hope, and it really tugs at your heartstrings no matter where you’re from.”

Copies of “Funny in Farsi” are available for checkout from the Brentwood Library, 104 Oak St.