Customer Reviews

My Prison, My Home: One Woman's Story of Captivity in Iran

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A touching and well written biographical account of an American professor employed by a think tank arrested and held in an Iranian jail for her alleged crimes against Iran. The author does a great job in setting up the historical/political atmosphere in Iran at the time of her capture, and intermingling her own experiences as a prisoner to the larger fabric of life in Iran through her accounts of the lives and interests of her female guards. The author also does a great job likening her experience in the Iran's judicial system to that of the German Stasi and the Russian system of interrogation and detention. To that end, this book is instructive on the legal and judicial systems of oppressive dictatorships. Dr. Esfandiri's voice is clear, her writing is engaging, and this book is a must read for anyone interested in dictatorships, Iran, women's rights, show trials, and legal systems.

Poignant, gripping and filled with incidental virtuosity, "My Prison, My Home" by Haleh Esfandiari is a compelling book that will appeal as much to those who simply enjoy a terrific read as to those who follow the ongoing saga of the U.S.-Iran relationship more assiduously. For, on the one hand, Esfandiari's portrayal of her arrest and incarceration in Iran's notorious Evin Prison is an inspiring tale of human dignity, resolve and bravery. And, on the other, it is a brilliant and moving account of her beloved county's rich and complex history.

As a result, she has crafted an intricate mosaic that is in part a paean to the human spirit, her spirit; and in part a cogent account of the evolution of events that led up to an Islamic regime that is as repressive, as intransigent as any in recent memory. Gracious and eloquent to the end, Esfandiari also reminds us all of the fragility of the freedoms we in this country take for granted.

To be shocked and awed by such a narrative is not the norm. One usually conjures visions of edgy fiction, juicy memoirs or newsworthy exposes for such reactions. Yet Haleh Esfandiari's "My Prison, My Home" is as gripping as any of these. I could not put it down.

Haleh Esfandiari's book is a window into an unfathomable experience that was all too real for this grandmother and her family. She has written it in a way that allows us to travel through the Iranian "system" and provides an inside view of the complexity of the Iranian government and the various players behind it. Most importantly, the book is an inspirational testament to the power of the human mind and spirit - Esfandiari's tenacity is remarkable and serves as a lesson in the power we all hold within! This is a MUST - READ!

In 2007, at 67 years of age, Haleh Esfandiari survived a nightmare experienced by so many of her fellow Iranians during the last several decades. She was arrested by the Iranian secret police on trumped up charges, interrogated endlessly, and finally placed in solitary confinement inside the infamous Evin Prison for 105 days. That she survived her ordeal, and did not suffer physical torture at the hands of her interrogators, makes her one of the lucky ones.

Esfandiari is not the typical citizen of Iran. She is, in fact, the founding director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington D.C. and she has taught at Princeton University. She lives in Maryland with her Iranian husband, a Jewish George Mason University professor, whom she married in Iran in 1964. Herself the product of a mixed marriage (her father is Iranian and her mother Austrian), Esfandiari, an avowed feminist, worked for Iranian newspapers before leaving the country in 1980 for political reasons. Esfandiari's mother, however, decided to remain in Iran even after her husband's death so that, when her time came, she could be buried next to him.

On December 31, 2006, Haleh Esfandiari had just completed an extended visit to her 93-year-old mother and was being driven to the airport for her return flight to the United States. Before she could make it to the airport, her car was stopped and she was robbed of her possessions, including her passport. Despite the warnings of some of her Iranian friends that this was no ordinary mugging, Esfandiari wanted to believe that she had been targeted by robbers only because of her apparent wealth rather than for political reasons. She would soon learn how wrong she was.

Esfandiari's 105 days of imprisonment would be proceeded by four months of almost daily interrogation at the hands of investigators determined to force her to confess that she was part of a United States conspiracy to overthrow the Iranian government. Despite the mind-numbing repetitiveness of the questions (as well as that of her consistent responses) and the increasing threats of a life in prison sentence, or worse, for her refusal to cooperate, Esfandiari refused to sign a confession even after being taken to the notorious Evin Prison.

"My Prison, My Home: One Woman's Story of Captivity in Iran" is Haleh Esfandiari's account of how she maintained her sanity and physical health during her eight-month ordeal. Early on, she sensed that a system of routine and order would be instrumental in fighting off the despair and confusion she could so easily fall into during her confinement. Because during the early weeks of her imprisonment she was allowed no reading material other than the Koran, Esfandiari used physical exercise as both an escape and a means of setting goals for herself. She knew she had to be as mentally tough as her interrogators if she was to survive what they had planned for her.

The most unexpected aspect of "My Prison, My Home" is the relationship that developed between Esfandiari and some of those holding her, especially the female guards in control of her daily routine. A surprising number of these women came to sympathize with Esfandiari and to develop a personal relationship with her. Esfandiari, on her part, would take such an interest in their lives that she became a grandmother-like figure to some of the young women. Even her interrogators and the prison doctor sometimes displayed what seemed to be genuine concern for her mental and physical health while they continued to pressure her for a confession.

Despite the tremendous emotional and physical ordeal Haleh Esfandiari suffered at the hands of her countrymen, her prose is, at times, flat and rather unemotional, almost as if she cannot allow herself to feel again the pain and despair of those days. Perhaps, too, her tone is such because something inside her has died and she knows that she will never again see her beloved Iran as she saw it before her imprisonment. Much more than her passport and possessions were stolen from her on December 31, 2006.

In this extremely well-written and inspiring book, Haleh Esfandiari succeeds in involving the reader emotionally in a compelling story. Methodically she recounts the intrictate details of the questioning sessions which followed her harrowing experience that began with a robbery on her way to the airport and continued all through her imprisonment at the notorious Evin Prison. Through her account, one is familiarized with the savage and irrational conduct of a theocracy which considers itself only answerable to god. This is not only an account of intimidation, threats and psychological pressure but also a story of a glorious and indomitable spirit that refuses to be broken despite the unbearable pressures. In fact, it is a vivid testimony to the courage and fortitude of the Iranian women who have been at the vanguard of the movement fighting to liberate Iran from this scourge.

I should say up front that I know Haleh Esfandiari, she is a colleague and a friend at the Woodrow Wilson Center. I would still share with you my opinion that she has penned a book that reads like an cliffhanger while providing an essential and engaging account of Iran's modern political history. Even though the reader knows the outcome of her personal trials of imprisonment and interrogation, the ongoing political turmoil in Iran is an extension of the same battles Haleh had with her interrogators. The charges levied against the protesters in the streets today are the same ones Haleh was charged with. The battle continues. What Haleh does so well is provide the political context for the battles within the Iranian state, helps pull back the curtain of monolithic stereotypes of modern Iran, and provides outsiders a glimpse of the often beautiful, sometimes ugly mosaic that is Iran. A range of subplots help do that in unexpected ways. The accounts of the gender barriers she broke in the workplace throughout her career in journalism in Iran has eerie echoes of what American women faced in newsrooms. Through her own story she illuminates societal perceptions and sanctions of marriages seen to be contaminating rather than bridging religions. And finally, Haleh with her own imprisonment shows there can be surprising penalties for the reasonable, the moderate, the open-minded. The very dialogue she facilitates at the Wilson Center to deepen understanding was (and certainly still is) viewed with the utmost suspicion through the paranoid blinders of the current Iranian intelligence ministry. She was caught up in that net of paranoia yet she shows in it is but one slice of Iran. Her account of that journey makes for some very compelling reading.

As an American, surrounded by a large Persian community, I have always considered my self to be knowledgeable about Iranian culture, customs and have also read many books on these subject. Because of that I have always had a strong affection for Persian culture, food, poetry and the like, and a great deal of tolerance for the "all good things come from Iran" mentality that is so commonly found in Persians. However, reading the book really affected that. The Iranian government, her treatment with being interrogated, the entire relationship between captors and captive was absolutely bizarre. The freedoms we hold near and dear in this country simply do not exist in Iran, and that culture allows it to flourish. I had a very hard time reconciling this story with the culture I thought I understood. This book make me feel very unsure that I would ever want the US to normalize relations with Iran. It was incredibly ironic that after releasing her they gave her a leather-cound copy of Hafiz poetry as though to say "let's be friends all is forgiven". huh?? After 8 months in captivity, grueling interrogations and solitary confinement?? They still have not dropped charges against her! Regarding the writing, I thought it was a bit long winded a times, and I found myself skimming over some parts, particularly regarding her release and the international efforts on her behalf. If you thought you liked Persian culture and you would like to stay in that mindset, do not read this book. I cannot get over how antagonistic it made me feel towards Iran.

This is a wonderful account of a middle-aged woman's amazing resistance against all odds in Evin Prison in Tehran. Haleh Esfandiari relied both on spiritual support, as well as universal vociferous support of everyone she knew, that is everyone who could do it. She puts her ordeal in the context of a concise account of recent Iranian history. The book shows once more how the Iranian regime is ridiculously paranoid about anyone who lives & works abroad. Despite the regime's claim, international & media's continuous voicing of the facts helps a lot in releasing these unlawful incarcerations. I highly recommend this memoir, as well as accounts by Marina Nemat, Zara Ghahramani & Roxana Saberi.

Iranian American, Haleh Esfandiari was wrongly accused of spying for America, against Iran, and imprisoned for 105 days in the notorious Evin prison. She had made America her home and raised a family there with her Jewish husband, Saleh. She had been working as a teacher and advisor, endeavouring to improve understanding between the two countries.
Haleh, aged 69, was on a routine visit to her Austrian mother, still living in Iran (her Iranian father had passed away) when she was "mugged" while travelling by taxi to the airport, both her passports were stolen but her nightmare had only just begun.
For months she was harassed by the authorities; brought in for questioning about her activities in America on a daily basis. She was unable to travel and was also abandonded by many of her friends who could no longer risk being associated with her. This culminated with her incarceration, during which she lost 20lb - 20% of her body weight, her arthritus flared up and she had extreme problems with her eyes.

I am sorry to be marking this book down to 3 stars, but a review is a personal opinion and I found this too full of detail in many respects. The Iranian politics, while relevant, could have been abreviated, the full list of peole who had helped in the fight for her release was unnecessary and it took half the book before Ms Esfandiari actually set foot inside the prison. I appreciate that this much detail suits some people - Amazon.com has many glowing reviews - but it has taken me 6 months and 13 renewal stamps in my book before I reached the end, so for me, while interesting, it was just a 3* read.

Haleh Esfandiari writes a compelling, heart wrenching story of unnecessary confinement by a government totally paranoid with anyone who has the ability to move freely about the globe. I couldn't resist turning the next page and in most cases could not turn the pages quickly enough!
I had the impression things were bad in Iran but I had no real inclination they were this sinister. I can't imagine a grandmother being detained on such ridiculous trumped up charges to begin with but then to be held in solitary confinement --- what incredible barbarians. This is a story very much worth the read.