Maryam Rostampour

A friend gave me this book a while ago, and while I’ve meant to get to it for ages, it took a reading challenge to make me actually pick it up. I’m so glad I took the time for it; with the war going on right now, the messages in this story felt especially relevant.

I’ve read many books about Christians in difficult situations and the ways their faith was tested. This is the first one, to my knowledge, that I’ve read that was set in Iran. The conditions inside Evin prison were show more horrific, but I loved the way Maryam and Marziyeh worked to encourage themselves and others and work for better conditions for everyone there, even if it was something as simple as a little supplementary food or some warm clothing. I also loved the way they were able to share about their faith even more freely inside prison than outside; that shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did, but I found it encouraging.

I’m also glad we got a bit of a peek into the lives of some of the other prisoners they were with. While some of the stories were hard to hear, it was good to get an idea of what living under a strict Islamic regime can be like—that’s something I don’t remember seeing in any other book before. Some semi-frequent examples included temporary marriages, how men had many more rights than women, and the desperate straits women were driven to at times because they didn’t have rights. These stories were eye-opening and frequently heartbreaking.

Highly recommended to anyone who would like to learn more about Iranian culture or enjoy stories of Christians living out their faith under difficult circumstances.

CW: Occasional mentions of rape, lesbian relationships in prison, torture, and a few murder stories (several somewhat graphic). show less

This book challenged me to think about persecuted believers around the world and how I would respond if I were faced with this situation. My full review is below

http://christianmissionaryuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/have-you-counted-cost-of-com...

I would love to have given this 5 stars but I cannot due to some subjective experiences described by the authors that I personally disagree with. However, I would recommend this book for adult Christians; Have YOU counted the cost of coming to Christ? show more You will after reading this book! show less