This is a fascinating narrative by an American journalist with dual Iranian citizenship who was falsely accused of espionage. She details her imprisonment, relentless interrogations, solitary confinement, torture, and coercion to admit being a spy for the CIA. She is then prompted by her conscience to bravely recant and withdraw her false confession, whatever the cost. This account exposes the farcical Iranian justice system in which prisoners are neither allowed to know of the charges against them , to speak freely in their defense, or have access to their lawyers. It is assumed that she was released after 8 months due to international outcry and protests. ( )

This book was fascinating. Written by the female journalist who was arrested and held in an Iranian prison for eight months. It gives a great overview of what it might be like to live as an American female in Iran and what the inside of an Iranian prison is like. ( )

After six years of living in Iran, the country of her father, while doing interviews and research for a book she planned to write Roxana Saberi was roused from sleep and hauled out of her apartment for hours and then days of unrelenting hostile questioning in January 2009. Charged with espionage, she spent more than 100 days in the notorious Evin prison, sometimes in solitary confinement and never with more than a blanket on the floor for a bed. Her interrogators pressured her to make false confessions, threatening her by saying she would never be freed and could be executed if she didn't "cooperate". After a while she decided to try going along with them, but the more she lied in an effort to placate them enough to secure her release the more they demanded. Roxana was deeply ashamed of the lies and worried about damage they might cause but in the most affecting part of the book she is able to regain feeling of control and self-respect after being inspired by the example of fellow prisoners--women who were locked up for their religious or political beliefs--to change her strategy and tell only the truth even in the most threatening circumstances. A hard to put down story. ( )

My focus shirted next to Iran. Roxana Saberi was held for 100 days in an Iranian prison. This book details her time in that prison and the women she met inside there. She was accused of being a spy and using her researching a book as a cover.



Roxana makes a false confession under distress and ends up recanting that confession while in jail. She uses hunger strikes as a way to pressure her jailers on letting her go. She barely is able to talk to her lawyer as he prepares her defense. She realizes early on that she can't trust anything she is told. Eventually her parents and boyfriend - a native Iranian - make enough "noise" to get her released.

I remember seeing the press release NPR and other news organizations wrote in support of her release come across my inbox last year. It was encouraging and motivating to see how a strong and smart woman was able to mentally survive this ordeal. Saberi mixes in stories about Iran's culture and historical events within her own story. ( )