My Life As A Traitor (AudioGo)

Zarah Ghahramani was born in Tehran in 1981, two years after Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran to establish the Islamic Republic. Her life changed suddenly in 2001 when, after having taken part in student demonstrations, she was arrested (literally snatched off the street by secret police) and charged with "inciting crimes against the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran." While imprisoned in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison she faced brutal interrogation: her head was shaved, and she was beaten. After being released, she was forbidden to return to university, and soon realized that she had no future in her native land. Robert Hillman, an Australian writer, met and befriended Zarah in Iran in 2003 and helped her to escape to Australia, where she now has permanent residency. My Life As a Traitor is a beautifully written memoir of Zarah's life in Iran, revealing the human face behind the turmoil of the modern Middle East. Zarah Ghahramani was born in Iran, where she was imprisoned in 2001 and tortured for participating in student demonstrations. She now lives in Australia with her husband. Robert Hillman has written several novels, including A Life of Days, The Hour of Disguise, Writing Sparrow Hill, and The Deepest Part of the Lake. His 2004 memoir, The Boy in the Green Suit, won Australia's National Biography Award. He has three children and lives in Warburton, in Victoria's Yarra Valley. Marjanne Doree is an actress of Iranian descent. After moving around several countries, her parents settled in Seattle in the 1980s. She lived there until the age of 18 then moved to NY to attend a Drama Conservatory. Upon graduation she moved to New York City where she now lives and works as an actress in theater, film, and television.