Tehran to Miami

"Tehran to Miami" is a one-of-a-kind memoir that follows the story of Donya, a woman suffering religious persecution in 1980's Iran. She will become an advocate for her entire generation, namely those growing up in the wake of the Islamic revolution of 1979 and the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.

This generation suffered immensely, weathering frequent scarcity of food, energy, and other essential resources. They were brainwashed in school and taught to hate the West. The new Iranian regime misrepresented the symbols of the Western lifestyle, morals, and political views to provoke hate, anger, and worst of all, resentment for European countries and especially America. In the case of Baha'is and converts to Christianity, they were subjected to systemic injustice and widespread discrimination.

Iranian women were especially oppressed, being stripped of their rights by the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 revolution. Women are compelled to wear the hijab, and are often stopped on the street, lashed in public, or imprisoned for their lack of a decent hijab. They are not granted divorce rights even in the case of cheating or abuse from their husbands. They can even be punished for taking a walk with a male friend or even for riding a bicycle in public.

This memoir tells previously untold stories about author Donya Ziraksari 's faith, family, and country. The pages will open the door to Persian homes during the 1980s and 1990s and reveal life under the oppressive government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"Tehran to Miami" was written with the intent of providing an honest account of those living in that place and time. Although it was a challenge to speak on behalf of an entire Iranian generation and capture all the difficulties that people faced and eventually adapted to, it is written in honor of religious minorities in Iran, who have been scared to practice their beliefs, fearing for their family's lives and future, before and after the revolution.

This book also honors the refugees around the world. As a refugee, Ziraksari too endured immense emotional distress, and she knows that other refugees around the world are facing the same—if not worse—emotional and physical distress; they are all longing for a better future.

This is the first memoir to present the myriad of Iranian cultures and traditions using accessible language and captivating stories from this incredibly turbulent time in history. It features prominently the difficulties experienced by the largest Iranian minority—women—and their navigation through the injustice of a male-dominated society.