New Yorker cartoonist Mahdavian’s debut graphic memoir, This Country (Princeton Architectural Press, Sept.), chronicles the three years he and his wife spent in rural Idaho after relocating from San Francisco.

What do you miss about rural life?
I’m living in Salt Lake City now, so it’s not like I’m in a bustling metropolis. But, I still miss the time in the quiet. For three years, there was time to pursue the things that I wanted to pursue and just a slow pace of life that was new to me.

What challenges did you face in portraying the people in that small town?
For the most part, locals approached Emelie and me with kindness and openness. Whenever we needed help, they were there. So I wanted to ensure that I portrayed the people sympathetically to return the kindness that I was shown, but also be critical where needed. Like in the section about the movie theater and how they all wanted John Wayne—and I love John Wayne, but you know, it’s problematic.

I knew that my responsibility as an author was that I needed to be true to my experience, and they may not agree with everything. In the end I had to be okay with that.

How did your parents react to their portrayal in the book?
Some of the more powerful moments in the book are them talking about being immigrant kids in America, ideas of their own identity, and coming to terms with that in this new place. There was an opportunity to connect with one another in a way that we hadn’t, and I could appreciate their experiences a little bit more even though, obviously, their experience was much more dramatic and in some ways less voluntary than mine.

What did you learn about yourself from reflecting on the experience?
Making friends with people who on paper I hadn’t thought I would be able to become friends with was a lasting takeaway. And finding common ground with people who are politically so different from me. Some of the views that people express there, I found them abhorrent. But if you’re stuck on the side of the road, they would stop to help. I would do the same thing for them.

How do you still practice land stewardship?
Caring for the land is one of the things I miss. I live in a condo now. I did count the number of plants that I have in my house. The last time I counted, I had 51 plants. So even though I don’t have space to garden outside, I’m still trying to cultivate a little bit of outside, inside my home.