"After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed" by Marina Nemat

At the age of sixteen Marina Nemat was imprisoned in Iran's notorious Evin prison. She shared the story of her arrest, imprisonment and torture in the bestselling book Prisoner of Tehran. But her story did not end there.


In After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed Marina shares what life was like for her after she was released from Evin. She married, escaped Iran, immigrated to Canada, started a family and began to live what she had hoped would be a normal life. But despite living what seemed like a typical Canadian life, she struggled with the memories of Evin and her past life began to haunt her. At this point she decided to put her feelings down on paper.


After Tehran chronicles Marina's arrival in Canada, how her book came to be published, and the frenzy that was ignited following the release of her book. She soon found herself travelling the world to share her story and reaching out to others who had been prisoners in Iran. Through it all, she continued to struggle with survivor's guilt and tried desperately to understand the shape her life had taken.


Having read Prisoner of Tehran I was intrigued to read this and discover the process by which she wrote the first book. It's pretty cool to read a book about how a book came to be written. But this is so much more than that. It deals with confronting the past, post-traumatic stress and speaking out about your past even though it may threaten your current well-being.


Marina Nemat is incredibly brave for giving a voice to thousands of young men and women who have been imprisoned and tortured in Iran. She also addresses current examples of people who have been imprisoned and tortured and what the West needs to do to help them and others.


I highly recommend reading both Prisoner of Tehran and After Tehran. These books will give you a better understanding of the history of Iran and what has led to the atmosphere of control and imprisonment in the past few decades. You will be moved by Marina's story and inspired by her courage.

Comments

  1. lisa :)January 27, 2011 at 11:07 AM

    Sounds like both books present a fascinating story of a remarkable life. I love well written biographies so I'll have to keep these in mind!

    ReplyDelete
  2. KristinJanuary 27, 2011 at 1:44 PM

    I have already put both books on my tbr list - great review!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Teena in TorontoFebruary 1, 2011 at 9:14 PM

    I read "Prisoner of Tehran" a couple years ago ... I didn't know she had a sequel. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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