My Name Is Mahtob: The Story that Began in the Global Phenomenon Not Without My Daughter Continues

Written by Mahtob Mahmoody

Narrated by Kristen James

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Dec 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9780718076900

Mahtob Mahmoody

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.

Reviews for My Name Is Mahtob

[techeditor_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mahtob Mahmoody is the daughter in NOT WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER, a book written in the late 1980s by her mother, Betty Mahmoody, about their escape from her Iranian father, his family, and his country. If you haven't already read that book, do it now, before you read MY NAME IS MAHTOB. Otherwise, the latter book will be dull. If you have read NOT WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER, you will appreciate Mahtob's view of those circumstances. Betty's account of their supposed "two-week vacation" to Iran took place when Mahtob was 4 to 6 years old. And Mahtob does remember that time in flashes, as most of us do, although her flashes were, perhaps, more memorable.As an aside, I hope Mahtob somehow sees this review of her book so she can read my apology. Recently (February 2016) I went to her book event at a bookstore in Okemos, Michigan. I asked her how she could remember that far back. She explained (as she does in the book, although I had not gotten that far yet). All is believable, and I'm afraid I sounded like a skeptic when I asked that question.MY NAME IS MAHTOB continues to her adulthood -because their story of terror does not end with their escape to freedom. As long as her father was alive, she and her mother had to be cautious of their every step because he never went away and neither did his threats to kill Betty and to kidnap Mahtob.

[brittanylyn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a heart-wrenching and gripping true story of Mahtob Mahmoody. It was recommended to me by a co-worker, as she sat reading it with tears in her eyes. I must say, it was well worth the read. I was familiar with the film Not Without My Daughter (came to find out that was based on an auto-biography as well) so I was certainly intrigued. The terror and horror that was experienced during Mahtob childhood was haunting, but even greater was the post-traumatic stress that continued to invade her life in later years. It was startling to read about the subsequent harassment and "creepy" events and encounters that continued to plague her and her family. It was very touching the amount of forgiveness, healing, and humility she was able to convey as she grew into a woman.