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

Not Without My Daughter, Betty Mahmoody’s bestselling book from 1987, detailed domestic abuse within her Iranian-American family, focusing particularly on the kidnapping carried out by her husband and the subsequent custody battle for her daughter, Mahtob Mahmoody, who was then five years old. In this follow-up memoir, Mahmoody tells her side of the story, from her early childhood memories of Iran and her father’s abuse, to her later childhood and adolescence in the U.S. As a teen, she supported her mother’s activism, feared her father’s potential return, and found religion. In Mahmoody’s telling, surviving her difficult childhood with her Christian faith and supportive family enabled her to grow into a wise and compassionate adult. It is a story of grace and forgiveness—a touching endnote for those who followed her mother’s story. However, after the initial drama of her time as a child hostage in Iran, much of the book details a relatively ordinary adolescence in the Midwest, and Mahmoody’s writing, straightforward and devoid of luster, is not strong enough to carry the work as a standalone account for those not already invested in the story. (Dec.)