Captive In Iran


A representative from Open Doors visited our church in March and I received this book from the stall there. I am always reluctant to read stories like this - I find some of the harrowing stories too traumatic for my exhausted mummy brain. One day I will read more real stories, but for now I try to be careful which books I am absorbed into!

 So, it was with great reluctance that I opened the first page of this biography....

 .....and couldn't put it down!

 The authors, Maryam and Marziyeh, write with an easy combination of facts and emotions. There are no grizzly recounts of torture, but the story certainly is shocking and sobering. I felt very grateful for my bed and clean home and freedom as I read.

 Maryam and Marziyeh tell of their story from sharing Bibles in a country where there's an unspoken law against converting Muslims to Christianity. It's clear that they love Iran and it's certainly described by the two women as a beautiful place in a geographical sense.

 This contrasts with their experience of being imprisoned without being charged in the notoriously tough Evin Prison. While the story of their struggles is graphic and difficult, it is not traumatising.

 I'd recommend Captive in Iran to anyone who wishes to be strengthened in knowing that Jesus can bring us through any trial. If you'd like a hefty dose of gratitude for the easy life we live here in Australia, reading this recount will definitely help with that, too.

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