Azar Nafisi, author of the international bestseller Reading Lolita in Tehran, now gives readers a stunning personal story of growing up in a family in Iran, moving memories of her life lived in thrall to a powerful and difficult mother, against the background of Iran during a time of revolution and change.

FAMILY FICTIONS. Saifi -- Rotten genes -- Learning to lie -- Coffee hour -- Family ties -- The holy man -- A death in the family -- LESSONS AND LEARNING. Leaving home -- Rudabeh's story -- At Scotforth House -- Politics and intrigue -- Mayor of Tehran -- Rehearsal for a revolution -- MY FATHER'S JAIL. A common criminal -- The prison diaries -- A career woman -- A suitable match -- Women like that! -- Married life -- REVOLTS AND REVOLUTION. A happy family -- Demonstrations -- Revolution -- The other other woman -- When home is not home anymore -- Reading and resistance -- Broken dreams -- Father's departure -- The goddess of bad news -- Facing the world -- The last dance -- The perils of love -- Moments in 20th-century Iranian history.