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Title details for Until We Are Free by Shirin Ebadi - Available

Until We Are Free

My Fight for Human Rights in Iran

by Shirin Ebadi
Shohreh Aghdashloo
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
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2 of 2 copies available
The first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, Shirin Ebadi has inspired millions around the globe through her work as a human rights lawyer defending women and children against a brutal regime in Iran. Now Ebadi tells her story of courage and defiance in the face of a government out to destroy her, her family, and her mission: to bring justice to the people and the country she loves.
For years the Islamic Republic tried to intimidate Ebadi, but after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rose to power in 2005, the censorship and persecution intensified. The government wiretapped Ebadi’s phones, bugged her law firm, sent spies to follow her, harassed her colleagues, detained her daughter, and arrested her sister on trumped-up charges. It shut down her lectures, fired up mobs to attack her home, seized her offices, and nailed a death threat to her front door. Despite finding herself living under circumstances reminiscent of a spy novel, nothing could keep Ebadi from speaking out and standing up for human dignity.
But it was not until she received a phone call from her distraught husband—and he made a shocking confession that would all but destroy her family—that she realized what the intelligence apparatus was capable of to silence its critics. The Iranian government would end up taking everything from Shirin Ebadi—her marriage, friends, and colleagues, her home, her legal career, even her Nobel Prize—but the one thing it could never steal was her spirit to fight for justice and a better future. This is the amazing, at times harrowing, simply astonishing story of a woman who would never give up, no matter the risks. Just as her words and deeds have inspired a nation, Until We Are Free will inspire you to find the courage to stand up for your beliefs.
Praise for Until We Are Free
“Ebadi recounts the cycle of sinister assaults she faced after she won the Nobel Prize in 2003. Her new memoir, written as a novel-like narrative, captures the precariousness of her situation and her determination to ‘stand firm.’”—The Washington Post
“Powerful . . . Although [Ebadi’s] memoir underscores that a slow change will have to come from within Iran, it is also proof of the stunning effects of her nonviolent struggle on behalf of those who bravely, and at a very high cost, keep pushing for the most basic rights.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Shirin Ebadi is quite simply the most vital voice for freedom and human rights in Iran.”—Reza Aslan, author of No god but God and Zealot
“Shirin Ebadi writes of exile hauntingly and speaks of Iran, her homeland, as the poets do. Ebadi is unafraid of addressing the personal as well as the political and does both fiercely, with introspection and fire.”—Fatima Bhutto, author of The Shadow of the Crescent Moon
“I would encourage all to read Dr. Shirin Ebadi’s memoir and to understand how her struggle for human rights continued after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. It is also fascinating to see how she has been affected positively and negatively by her Nobel Prize. This is a must read for all.”—Desmond Tutu
“A revealing portrait of the state of political oppression in Iran . . . [Ebadi] is an inspiring figure, and her suspenseful, evocative story is unforgettable.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Ebadi’s courage and strength of character are evident throughout this engrossing text.”—Kirkus Reviews

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 8, 2016

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780399568954
      • File size: 249385 KB
      • Duration: 08:39:33

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This harrowing true story is narrated in a raspy, deep voice by Shohreh Aghdashloo. Her sombre tone is fitting for the story of Iranian Shirin Ebadi, the first female Muslim Nobel laureate, who is struggling against her country's totalitarian regime. Her determination to fight for justice is harrowing and heroic. She persists against death threats, familial betrayals, and professional ruin. Aghdashloo delivers the particulars of these ups and downs in a voice tinged with grief but buoyed by a undertone of firm resolve. She reads with feeling the mounting personal danger against Ebadi. The listener is engaged in the gritty details of the sexism encountered by the former judge, who is demoted to law clerk and subsequently finds her way as a peaceful dissenter. M.R. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from January 4, 2016
      The story of Iran is the story of my life,” writes human rights activist and Nobel laureate Ebadi (Iran Awakening) at the start of her memoir, which paints a revealing portrait of the state of political oppression in Iran. It begins with the 1979 revolution, when the author, under Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime, lost her judgeship simply for being a woman. She uses spare, spirited prose to chronicle the start of her career as a pro bono defender of human rights, working with the most vulnerable—women, children, and dissidents—as the government subjected her to an increasing amount of harassment and scrutiny. She was exiled in 2009 on the eve of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s second term. The Iranian government has since redirected their intimidation schemes toward her family in Iran, coercing her husband and arresting her sister. Yet she continues to fight for Iranians’ human rights, finding refuge in London, where she currently lives. Ebadi’s tone is distinctly more sorrowful toward the end of the book, where she recounts her years away from Iran. She reflects on the Arab Spring and the many ways the Iranian state hides the costs of its policies from its citizens; despite this corruption, she feels homesick and dislocated in exile. She is an inspiring figure, and her suspenseful, evocative story is unforgettable.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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