Trapped in Iran
A Mother's Desperate Journey to Freedom

Samieh Hezari (Author), Kaylene Petersen (With)

9780253022530

Paperback / softback, published 22 August 2016

208 pages, 2 b&w illus., 1 map
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.2 cm, 0.295 kg

"The powerful story of a mother's desperate struggle to extricate herself and her child from a hopeless existence in Iran. . . . Each piece of foreshadowing makes one want to beg her to stop and turn around. Hezari's account of her terrible journey will keep listeners [and readers] on the edges of their seats."—AudioFile Magazine
" "Trapped in Iran is brilliant. It is about a mother's struggle in saving her daughter and herself from the harmful Islamic regime which does not grant women any right to support her children if the father does not allow it."—A Thousand Lives Lived

In 2009, Samieh Hezari made a terrible mistake. She flew from her adopted home of Ireland to her birthplace in Iran so her 14-month-old daughter, Rojha, could be introduced to the child's father. When the violent and unstable father refused to allow his daughter to leave and demanded that Samieh renew their relationship, a two-week holiday became a desperate five-year battle to get her daughter out of Iran. If Samieh could not do so before Rojha turned seven, the father could take sole custody—forever. The father's harassment and threats intensified, eventually resulting in an allegation of adultery that was punishable by stoning, but Samieh—a single mother trapped in a country she saw as restricting the freedom and future of her daughter—never gave up, gaining inspiration from other Iranian women facing similar situations. As both the trial for adultery and her daughter's seventh birthday loomed the Irish government was unable to help, leaving Samieh to attempt multiple illegal escapes in an unforgettable, epic journey to freedom. Trapped in Iran is the harrowing and emotionally gripping story of how a mother defied a man and a country to win freedom for her daughter.

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue: One Year Later
Acknowledgments