My Name Is Mahtob: The Story that Began in the Global Phenomenon Not Without My Daughter Continues

Mahtob Mahmoody went through extraordinary challenges that I have not. Her experiences are her experiences, so I cannot give her book just one star. However, the book was not my cup of tea. Her faith is very important to her, and clearly helped her navigate a difficult time. Some of her beliefs, like faith, God, and time in the bible can cure mental diseases including schizophrenia are problematic. Especially coming from someone with a psychology degree. Faith can absolutely have positive effects in a persons life and for their mental health, but it is dangerous to suggest that all you need is God. I also got bored and found the book cringy when she started proselytizing and talking about how Christians are discriminated against.

Mahtob Mahmoody is the daughter in NOT WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER, a book written in the late 1980s by her mother, Betty Mahmoody, about their escape from her Iranian father, his family, and his country. If you haven't already read that book, do it now, before you read MY NAME IS MAHTOB. Otherwise, the latter book will be dull.

If you have read NOT WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER, you will appreciate Mahtob's view of those circumstances. Betty's account of their supposed "two-week vacation" to Iran took place when Mahtob was 4 to 6 years old. And Mahtob does remember that time in flashes, as most of us do, although her flashes were, perhaps, more memorable.

As an aside, I hope Mahtob somehow sees this review of her book so she can read my apology. Recently show more (February 2016) I went to her book event at a bookstore in Okemos, Michigan. I asked her how she could remember that far back. She explained (as she does in the book, although I had not gotten that far yet). All is believable, and I'm afraid I sounded like a skeptic when I asked that question.

MY NAME IS MAHTOB continues to her adulthood -because their story of terror does not end with their escape to freedom. As long as her father was alive, she and her mother had to be cautious of their every step because he never went away and neither did his threats to kill Betty and to kidnap Mahtob. show less

If you read "Not Without My Daughter" (and you should, and even see the movie0, you will want to read this follow-up by the "Daughter of the title of the first, a true story.

However, even as a solo book, "My Name is Mahtob" provides enough background to make place Mahtob's life, after she and her mother escaped from Iran and her father.

Mahtob describes her challenges, her success in overcoming them and her remarkable achievements in a "matter-of-fact" tone, as if telling her story to a group of people, or to a new friend.

This was a heart-wrenching and gripping true story of Mahtob Mahmoody. It was recommended to me by a co-worker, as she sat reading it with tears in her eyes. I must say, it was well worth the read. I was familiar with the film Not Without My Daughter (came to find out that was based on an auto-biography as well) so I was certainly intrigued. The terror and horror that was experienced during Mahtob childhood was haunting, but even greater was the post-traumatic stress that continued to invade her life in later years. It was startling to read about the subsequent harassment and "creepy" events and encounters that continued to plague her and her family. It was very touching the amount of forgiveness, healing, and humility she was able to show more convey as she grew into a woman. show less

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