BOOK: EVEN AFTER ALL THIS TIME By Afschineh Latifi ( A Memoir )

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BOOK: EVEN AFTER ALL THIS TIME By Afschineh Latifi ( A Memoir )
by Darius Kadivar
22-Jan-2009
 

"Please make sure the children know that I was guilty of nothing. With those words, Colonel Mohammad Bagher Latifi bid his wife a final farewell in his Tehran prison cell on May 23, 1979. Within minutes, he was executed by members of the newly installed Khomeini regime. With her father’s death, Afschineh Latifi’s once-secure world came crashing down. Seemingly overnight, her existence went from one of privilege to one of crushing uncertainty."

EVEN AFTER ALL THIS TIME is the moving account of a family that, despite seemingly insurmountable odds, persevered and made their dreams come true. In the telling, Afschineh Latifi, her sister, and their mother emerge as women of indomitable strength, courage, and resiliency whose incredible story is certain to inspire readers everywhere.

From Publishers Weekly
"Be like a nail!" Latifi's mother would scold when the author cried. These words are a testament to the grit Latifi displays throughout this wonderful memoir. The author was 10 and her sister 11 in May 1979, when their father, a military officer under the Shah, was executed by Khomeini's soldiers. Only 34, their mother was left to raise four young children (she also had two sons) in a newly fundamentalist society hostile to women. At first, the girls "loved putting on the chadors. It felt like Halloween." But when a villager started bidding on marrying Latifi's then 13-year-old sister, their mother knew they had to leave. Yet visas were routinely denied, passports arbitrarily confiscated. Still, Mrs. Latifi managed to take her daughters to Austria, where they attended a convent school (the boys remained in Tehran). The year in Austria was disastrous; the girls unwittingly spent the family's savings trying to overcome their loneliness. America was the next solution; there, the girls lived with relatives in Virginia and learned to take care of each other. Things turned out all right—the family was finally reunited, the children all chose good careers. Unlike many Iranian memoirs, most of this one takes place outside the country. Still, it's a remarkable, resonating tale. Photos. (Apr.)

See Review

About the Book:

336 pages

Publisher: Harper Perennial (March 28, 2006)

Available on Amazon.com (English) and Also available in Spanish

Recommended Watching:

Revolutionary Trial of General Mehdi Rahimi ( Poor Video Quality But Sound clear ):

Recommended Reading:

The general's widow By Cyrus KADIVAR

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Darius Kadivar

Thanks Azarin Jaan

by Darius Kadivar on

I am reading it right now and I have to say I was surprised by the positive energy that one feels in this story. It has some very sad and emotional moments but also humor and you get a portrait of a very close family united by love and inspired by a brave mother who never accepted to indulge in self pity or blinded by revenge.

It is the "OPPOSITE SATRAPI" Version if you will of exile and the revolution seen through a different perspective.

Afcshineh sent me a dedicated copy and we correspond every year from time to time. She is a beautiful personality and her story is really inspiring. I hope you will enjoy it.

Warm Regards,

D


Azarin Sadegh

familiar story..

by Azarin Sadegh on

Thanks Darius for the info! I ordered my copy...

Unfortunately, it is a familar story, as my best friend's father was also executed by Islamists in 79...As my friend tells me her father was a true patriot who loved Iran and hadn't hurt a soul...My friend had the chance of meeting with her father on the eve of his execution. She was 14 then and I think it is one of those wounds that would never heal.,...

Her mother had to raise 4 kids alone in really difficult times, still, amazingly, my friend is one of the strongest and kindest and the most balanced people I've ever met in my life.

looking forward to reading Afcshineh's memoir,

Azarin