Not Without My Daughter had a very big impact on me when I read it years ago. The movie, although a bit different from the factual book, was also very good. This memoir tells the story from the child's perspective and follows her into adulthood. It's nice to see that despite all she went through at such a young age that she turned out to be a really strong and capable woman. The most disappointing thing to see is that her father stuck to the story that she and her mother were lying about the whole thing until the day he died. It's no matter though, because Mahtob found what she really needed in the end: forgiveness. It's a lesson a lot of us could use who have lived through much less.
This story might take a minute to tell. Bear with me. When my sister and I were little girls, my mother took us to a large baptist church in town. Even as a child, I never remember feeling welcome there. But I do remember the lovely older couple that kept my Sunday School class. They gave us saltines and kool-aid, and I remember thinking they would be nice grandparents to have. At Christmastime, the Sunday School class was set to have a random gift exchange. Every child was supposed to bring a gift that could be exchanged with any other child.....no specific gift designations. I received the gift of an Avon 7 bead necklace which was very popular at the time. I loved it so much and was thrilled to have it! I was somewhere between 5 and 7 at the time. (Back in the 1970's and 80's, Avon was a cosmetic company that was also known for it's inexpensive jewelry. I couldn't find a price on what this necklace would have cost back then, but apparently there is ...
