Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. To hyphenate or not to hyphenate has been a central point of controversy since before the imprinting of the first Gutenberg Bible. And yet, the hyphen has persisted, bringing and bridging new words and concepts. Hyphen follows the story of the hyphen from antiquity-"Hyphen" is derived from an ancient Greek word meaning "to tie together" -to the present, but also uncovers the politics of the hyphen and the role it plays in creating identities. The journey of this humble piece of connective punctuation reveals the quiet power of an orthographic concept to speak to the travails of hyphenated individuals all over the world. Hyphen is ultimately a compelling story about the powerful ways that language and identity intertwine. Mahdavi-herself a hyphenated Iranian-American-weaves in her own experiences struggling to find a sense of self amidst feelings of betwixt and between. Through stories of the author and three other individuals, Hyphen collectively considers how to navigate, articulate, and empower new identities. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic. Part memoir, part meditation, this book, like the hyphen, is small but mighty. Mahdavi weaves together the line-breaking history of a typographical mark with the heart-breaking choices faced by those living hyphenated lives-Chinese-American, African-American, Mexican-American-in the United States. Mahdavi draws on her ethnographic skills to reveal how the hyphen can punctuate lives, tearing them apart. Yet the hyphen's connective force cannot be underestimated. Ultimately, as an Iranian-American, Mahdavi urges refusal, showing us that to embrace the hyphen is to choose wholeness.