My Name is Mahtob by Mahtob Mahmoody ~ Book Tour & Review

Publisher's Description: Two decades ago, millions of readers worldwide thrilled to the story told in the international bestseller Not Without My Daughter—subsequently made into a film starring Sally Field—that told of an American mother and her six-year-old child’s daring escape from an abusive and tyrannical Iranian husband and father. Now the daughter returns to tell the whole story, not only of that imprisonment and escape but of life after fleeing Tehran: living in fear of re-abduction, enduring recurring nightmares and panic attacks, attending school under a false name, battling life-threatening illness—all under the menacing shadow of her father. This is the story of an extraordinary young woman’s triumph over life-crushing trauma to build a life of peace and forgiveness. Taking readers from Michigan to Iran and from Ankara, Turkey, to Paris, France, My Name Is Mahtob depicts the profound resilience of a wounded soul healed by faith in God’s goodness and in his care and love. And Mahmoody reveals the secret of how she liberated herself from a life of fear, learning to forgive the father who had shattered her life and discovering joy and peace that comes from doing so.

About the Author A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Michigan State University, Mahtob Mahmoody has

worked in the field of mental health and is an advocate for public awareness of health and welfare initiatives. She is represented by AEI Speakers Bureau and lives in Michigan.

My Thoughts:  I'm sure most of us, at least those in my generation remember either the book or the movie starring Sally Field entitled "Not without My Daughter".   I remember being deeply affected by the story after reading it, and in fact, it is one of the only trade paperbacks that I kept after my big bookshelf purge a few years back.  I remember watching Betty Mahmoody, Mahtob's mom, talking of their experiences on shows like "The 700 Club" and other morning news programs.  I remember her telling her story matter of factly and how the laws were not on their side when it all happened and how she was now advocating for parents left behind when their children abducted of country by their spouses when it came to international parental kidnappings.

"My Name is Mahtob" is the story told in Mahtob's (the now grown up daughter) perspective of what occurred and how her life was once they made their harrowing escape back to America. Growing up with the 18 month ordeal in Iran, and then coming back to America, having to change her name, battling trauma and nightmares, she lived with the fear of her father returning for her hanging over her life well into her university days.   Having turned her life over to Christ at a young age it is also the story of how her faith has sustained and kept her through it all and through her diagnosis and living with lupus.

Even though these women's experiences of abuse are hard to read, I loved this follow up to the whole story.  I was captivated to read what a well rounded individual Mahtob has turned out to be, how she pursued her dreams in the midst of a chaotic life and most of all how she kept and developed her faith in such difficult circumstances even as a child.  Reading how her faith and relationship with God developed over the years and got stronger as she grew older is a testimony of the grace of God and is an inspiration.  I also really liked reading of her and her mom's relationship through the years and how her mom helped her to not grow up bitter and hard but to forgive.  It was an amazing read and I'm really glad I came across it.   Highly recommend it if you have read or seen or heard about "Not Without My Daughter" but it is also a great read if you haven't.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers and Thomas Nelson Publishing for providing a copy free of charge for my honest opinion.  I was not required to write a positive review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.