Author’s Note
To write my story, I relied upon my personal memories and those of my parents. I have changed the names of all of the individuals in this book, and in some cases, I modified details to protect loved ones.
Note About Language
The narrative includes a crude insult, the word “whore,” which is used to frighten a teenage girl. This offensive word demonstrates part of the hostility the author experienced. It was included in the narrative to keep the authenticity of this true story.
Acknowledgments
My thanks to:
Lori Epstein, for taking a chance on her neighbor and handing my book proposal to the right people.
My wonderful editor, Martha E. Kendall, for her candid input and for always responding to my questions with so much patience and insight.
National Geographic, for providing me this platform.
Sheila M. Trask, for reading my story and telling me it had potential.
Everyone in my creative writing classes, and friends who read my manuscript and gave me their honest opinions about it.
My loving family.
Text Copyright © 2019 Nioucha Homayoonfar
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Hardcover ISBN: 9781426333668
Reinforced library binding ISBN: 9781426333675
Ebook ISBN 9781426333682
The publisher would like to thank the following people for their work on this book: Priyanka Lamichhane, senior editor; Julide Dengel, art director and designer; Dawn McFadin, designer; Lori Epstein, photo director; Molly Reid, production editor; and Anne LeongSon and Gus Tello, design production assistants.
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FOREWORD
BY FIROOZEH DUMAS, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF FUNNY IN FARSI
High school was a pivotal time in my life, not for anything that happened at school, but for what happened on the other side of the world. Many evenings during my freshman year, I took my place on the sofa next to my parents as we watched the Iranian revolution unfold on the evening news. We lived in California, far away from the actual events, but we thought and spoke of nothing else. Still, if a fortune-teller had told us what the future held for Iran, we would have laughed in his face.
The Iran that we knew was a country with a cosmopolitan capital where women tried to emulate the latest European fashions, where the population was mostly secular, and where Jews, Christians, and Muslims co-existed peacefully. Women were making advancements in many fields, Iranian schools were producing world-renowned engineers and doctors, and more citizens than ever had access to educational opportunities.
Before 1979, most Iranians did not fathom that someday, women would no longer be allowed to serve as judges, that Western music would be banned, that women would be punished for showing strands of hair, that what happens socially in the privacy of your home, like dancing, could actually get you arrested. I still cannot believe that my favorite vacation spot as a child, the Caspian Sea, is now gender-segregated. How ridiculous is it that men and women can no longer enjoy the beach together?