My Name is Mahtob. Mahtob Moody. 2015. Thomas Nelson. 352 pages. [Source: Library]
I read Not Without My Daughter over twenty years ago. It was one of my 'discoveries' as I was shelf-reading the shelves in my high school library. (Not even nonfiction was safe to assign me! I was prone to getting distracted.) At the time I didn't read a lot of nonfiction, and, I certainly didn't associate nonfiction with "compelling" and "fascinating." But it was a quick read that I remember really getting absorbed in. That being said, do I remember many details?! Of course not! And I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. It allowed me to pick up My Name is Mahtob with fresh eyes. There was no need to compare and contrast accounts or memories. And as soon as the author said that she had never read her mother's book, I felt a bit relieved if I'm honest.
So how much of the book is focused on her time in Iran? Just a chapter or two. Maybe slightly more. Her experiences certainly shaped her life in one way or another. But perhaps not in the way one would expect. Once back in the United States, her mother wrote a book, her mother went on tour with the book, did book signings, gave lectures, traveled not just around the country, but, to other parts of the world, there was a movie deal, etc. Sometimes Mahtob stayed in school and had a "normal" life though perhaps it's not normal to attend elementary school with a false name--a new name. But she certainly did a fair amount of traveling with her mother, and was a person of interest to the media. Through it all, through several decades, the two lived in fear that her father would retaliate. That more drama would find them. Would her father try to find them? Would Mahtob be kidnapped?
The book focuses on her growing up years--her school-age years, from kindergarten through college, I'd say. A few chapters follow about her adult years--home/family life, working, dating/socializing, etc.
The book focuses on a handful of big things: the effect of her childhood trauma (for lack of a better word), her health problems growing up with Lupus, her vigilance to stay safe and yet deal with the past in a healthy way, and how her Christian faith has shaped/defined her.
Is the book "too" Christian? I think honesty is best. It is published by Christian publishing house. There is no denying that. And the author is a Christian--defines herself as being Christian. Her faith matters to her. And she speaks openly and honestly about being a person of faith, of being a Christian. While unashamedly saying that she *is* a Christian, she stresses the importance of freedom of religion and freedom of speech. How every single person should have the freedom to believe or not believe whatever they want, to worship or not worship as they personally see fit, to make their own choices about how to live, what is right for them. So, yes, she mentions Jesus.
Other reviews I've seen complain about the "Christian" content. That somehow because she mentions God in the pages of her life, in her life story, that the book loses appeal, and, potentially readers. This makes no sense to me.
She certainly didn't ask for fame. And her life might have been different if they'd never gone to Iran to visit her father's side of the family. But this is a memoir, and it should reflect a whole life, a whole person. If there is a message in the book, it is, I think that one person can make a difference, that every individual matters, that choosing forgiveness means choosing joy.
I found this one a compelling read. I am going to try to reread Not Without My Daughter soon. © 2016 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
The past two years have been rough for 18 year old Finley Sinclair, beginning with the death of her older brother Will at the hands of terrorists and ending with a series of bad choices that have left her feeling empty inside; unable to hear God's voice. In an effort to fix things in her life, she decides to follow in Will's footsteps and heads Ireland to finish out her Senior Year of High School. Equipped with Will's journal and a fierce determination, she hopes to retrace his steps and get back what's been missing in her own life. Along the way she meets some interesting people who help her to see that sometimes, trusting and releasing control is the only way to be able to truly hear God.
Click here to read my full review
HarperCollins Publishers revealed today that they have sealed a “definitive agreement” to buy Christian publisher Thomas Nelson. Terms of the deal were not revealed, and will be finalized by the end of the year.
Follow this link to read the complete release. Thomas Nelson publishes many inspirational titles, including books by authors like Billy Graham, Max Lucado and Dave Ramsey. In 1988, HarperCollins acquired the Christian publisher, Zondervan.
HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray had this comment in the release: “Founded in 1798 in Edinburgh, Scotland, Thomas Nelson shares a long and rich heritage with both New York’s Harper Brothers and Scotland’s William Collins & Sons. It is thus with great pleasure that I look forward to welcoming Thomas Nelson to the HarperCollins family.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Another book review as I promised.
The Fight of Our Lives: Knowing the Enemy, Speaking the Truth & Choosing to Win the War Against Radical Islam by William J. Bennett & Seth Leibsohn (Thomas Nelson, 2011)
The Fight of Our Lives is a clearly written book. Bennett and Leibsohn dogmatically, repeatedly and unapologetically state the theme:”Lifting the veil and engaging the fight, as both a matter
At church, before communion, we often sing The Agnus Dei. "Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us." I often wonder what my kids are thinking when they hear the verses of the Agnus Dei. During Lent many of us teach our children that Jesus died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven. The imagery of Jesus as the Lamb of God is a natural extension of this teaching and the symbolism is worth discussing during the Lenten season with your kids.
John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb of God: "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29 NIV)
God offered up the perfect sacrifice, his Son, the “Sacrificial Lamb." Through Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection, we can have eternal life if we believe in Him. "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." (1 Peter 1:18-19 NIV)
When we sing about the Lamb of God, we remember Christ's death on the cross and the sacrifice, and we praise God and offer our thanks and devotion to the Lamb, our Redeemer. "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" (Revelation 5:12 NIV)
Lamb of God Crayon Resist Lenten CraftIn art, the Agnus Dei symbol is often depicted as a lamb bearing a cross or banner. We made our own Agnus Dei artwork today for our stArt project. Starting with a white piece of paper, we cut out the lamb's body in a cloud shape.
While the kids were busy cutting out a head and legs out of black paper, I took a white crayon and wrote "Jesus" on each of the white body pieces. I also added some white swirls to look like wool. Using watercolor paint, the kids covered the lamb's body with paint and, through this wax resist artwork, it was revealed to them that Jesus is the "Lamb of God." Our sins are represented by the paint and Jesus, written in white crayon, takes away the sins of the world. I cut out a cross shape out of brown construction paper while the kids painted.
After the paint dried the kids assembled their own Agnus Dei artwork. The artwork indeed reminds us that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Other Lamb of God Crafts:Lamb of God WashclothLam
Just two months shy of his fourth birthday, Colton Burpo, the son of an evangelical pastor in Imperial, Neb., was rushed into emergency surgery with a burst appendix.
He woke up with an astonishing story: He had died and gone to heaven, where he met his great-grandfather; the biblical figure Samson; John the Baptist; and Jesus, who had eyes that “were just sort of a sea-blue and they seemed to sparkle,” Colton, now 11 years old, recalled.
Colton’s father, Todd, has turned the boy’s experience into a 163-page book, “Heaven Is for Real,” which has become a sleeper paperback hit of the winter, dominating best-seller lists and selling hundreds of thousands of copies.
Thomas Nelson, the christian book publishers, said it had broken company sales records. The publisher, based in Nashville, began with an initial print run of 40,000 copies. Since the book came out in November, it has gone back to press 22 times, with more than 1.5 million copies in print. On the New York Times best-seller list for paperback nonfiction last Sunday, “Heaven Is for Real” was No. 1. The book remains in the top spot this coming Sunday.
Much of the book’s success has been fueled by word of mouth, since it did not begin with the usual best-seller channels: there has been no elaborate book tour, big-name book publishers or brand-name author. But it has gained traction with a few well-placed appearances on the morning show “Fox & Friends,” “The 700 Club” and CNN.
The book has sold just as strongly in national chain bookstores like Barnes & Noble as it has in Christian specialty shops, said Matt Baugher, the vice president and book publisher of Thomas Nelson. Mass merchants like Wal-Mart have pushed the book heavily in their stores, and large orders from churches and ministry groups are growing steadily.
“We all are perhaps desperate to know what is on the other side of the veil after we die,” Mr. Baugher said, adding that his initial skepticism about the Burpo family’s story was short-lived. “This was a very down-to-earth, conservative, quote-unquote normal Midwestern family. We became fully convinced that this story was valid. And also that it was a great story that would just take off.”
The book was an instant hit in Barnes & Noble outlets and was near the top of the best-seller list on its bn.com. The chain’s religion buyer was an early advocate for the book, ordering copies for every store, said Patricia Bostelman, the vice president for marketing at Barnes & Noble.
“When you buy the religion subject, you are presented with many stories about heaven, personal experiences about near-death and the afterlife,” Ms. Bostelman said, noting that several other books with “heaven” in the title have sold well recently. “But what was unusual about this book was that it was the story of a little boy. It deactivated some of the cynicism that can go along with adults capitalizing on their experiences.”
Todd Burpo wrote the book with Lynn Vincent, who collaborated with Sarah Palin on “Going Rogue.” Mr. Burpo, the pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, a farming community in southwest Nebraska, said in an interview that he had shouldered some criticism over it.
“People say we just did this to make money, and it’s not the truth,” Mr. Burpo said, referring to anonymous online comments about the book. “We were expecting nothing. We were just hoping the publisher would break even.” (He said he planned to give away much of the royalty income and spend some of it on home improvements.)
At first, he and his wife, Sonja, were not sure if they could believe their son’s story, which came out slowly, months and years after his sudden illness and operation in
I periodically review books for Thomas Nelson, Zondervan and for Clarion’s Children’s Division. I usually gobble those books up. Not only do they feed my appetite for books, but they cost me nothing but my time.
I love the arrangement.
This week I finished my most recent Thomas Nelson read, Sabbath by Dan D. Allender. This title is part of Thomas Nelson’s “The Ancient Practices Series.” My
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
I occasionally do book reviews for Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze. Last week I read
A Lady Like Sarah. By Margaret Brownley. (A Rocky Creek Romance). 2009. Thomas Nelson. 320 pages.
Vultures signaled trouble ahead..
"She's an outlaw. He's a preacher. Both are in need of a miracle."
That's how it's described on the back cover. I must admit I was a little skeptic heading into this one. Would it be 'too western' for me? After all, it is set in the 1870s and it does feature an outlaw or two?! But my worries went away after I began reading.
The book stars the frustrated but good-intentioned preacher, Justin Wells, and the scared-and-somewhat-embittered outlaw, Sarah Prescott. It was not love at first sight.
When he first stumbles across Sarah, she's handcuffed. The U.S. marshal escorting her back to the Texas town of Rocky Creek has been shot and is in very poor condition. Justin not yet knowing that the prisoner is really a she promises the marshal to take "the prisoner" on to Texas, to see justice done, to take a message to the marshal's family. But can he keep his promise after he knows....
After he knows that "the prisoner" is a woman? She may not be dressed as one. She may not act like one, a lady, I mean. But she is woman through and through. And after hearing her side of the story, after hearing about her troubled past, after hearing her declare her innocence and after hearing about the mockery of a trial that condemned her to hang, after he's come to believe her...how can he keep that promise now? When he knows that there is a very good possibility--that she will hang. Can he live with having her her death on his hands?
She stared at the manacles in his hands and wondered what he saw when he looked at her. Did he see an outlaw or someone else--the woman whose heart suddenly yearned to be held by a man? By him? Cheeks aflame, she looked up.
Head lowered, he reached for her hand, but before cuffing her, he hesitated.
She searched his face and he met her gaze. She wanted him to look at her like she had seen her brothers look at other women. But anything would be better than the pity she saw in his eyes.
Look at me, she wanted to cry. Look at me. Without thinking, she threw her arms around his neck. If he was surprised, she couldn't tell. For his lips melted against hers, sending waves of heat down her body. His mouth on hers was both gentle and demanding, sweet and warm, and more than anything, persuasive. She drank in the moment, wishing it would last forever.
Great sand and sagebrush! How come no one ever told her that kissin' a man was even more fun than fightin' a bear? She'd heard tell about this man and woman stuff, but no one ever said it felt this good, felt so completely and utterly right.
The kiss ended far too soon. One hand on her shoulder, he firmly pushed her away. The mouth that moments earlier had been soft and yielding was now hard and unrelenting. No pity showed in his eyes now. Only rejection...and, somehow, that was even worse.
Her senses in turmoil, she didn't know what to think. She wondered if she had only imagined his response, imagined that he welcomed her kiss.
Confused as much by her own actions as his, she stared up at him.
"I'm sorry, Sarah."
She couldn't have felt more humiliated had she been thrown from a horse.
For the longest while, they stared at each other like two wild animals meeting by chance.
"Forgive me," he pleaded. "I can't do this."
Had he thrust a knife in her heart, he couldn't have hurt
The kids both caught colds and my daughter missed the last few Sunday School classes so I decided it was time for a Bible story this week. I can vaguely remember the cover of one of my favorite Bible stories growing up, the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. I'm pretty sure the illustration on the cover depicted a shepherd Joseph wearing a brilliant, colorful coat and holding a staff. I haven't been able to locate find the book and my mom does not remember the title, so we read a few others this week instead.
With Thanksgiving and winter fast approaching, I also thought it was a good time to talk to my daughter about those less fortunate. While reading the books, I mentioned to my daughter that not all children have warm coats to wear because they cannot afford them. We talked about generosity, having compassion for others and being thankful for what we do have.
"Joseph's Coat" is one the short Bible stories included in 100 Bible Stories, 100 Bible Songs by Stephen Elkins. I read my children the brief story and we listened to the accompanying song, "Joseph's Coat of Many Colors." 100 Bible Stories, 100 Bible Songs is perfect for sharing brief Bible lessons with your children and includes both Old and New Testament stories. Two CDs with 50 songs each are included inside the book and enhance the reading experience. The songs feature young children singing accompanied by synthesized music. (Although the book does not include the lyrics to the songs, they can be found on the related website, My Wonder Kids).
Each page spread typically features one story with simplified text on the left hand page and an illustration on the right. The illustrations by Tim O'Connor are bright, cute and appropriate for young children. I especially like that each story lists the Bible verse(s) that each story is based on. However, I wish that the corresponding Bible Song track numbers were listed in the book so that I could easy find the accompanying song for each story without taking the CD out of the player. My preschool daughter enjoys paging through the book and looking at the illustrations. Her favorite part tells the story of Baby Moses. This is not a book to be read cover to cover in one sitting, but one that is appropriate to use as a resource in supplementing home religious studies. I would also recommend it to Sunday School teachers.
100 Bible Stories, 100 Bible Songs by Stephen Elkins, illustrated by Tim O'Connor. Thomas Nelson (March 2005); 208 pages; ISBN 9781591452393
Book Source: I'm a Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger; Review copy provided for free by publisher (View my full
So there I was, in my last post, saying how helpful it is to write everyday. That was on July 7. July 8, I slept in and didn’t write. July 9, I wrote — Yay! But today, July 10, I’m up early but sadly to work, not write. I’m not sure I’ll be able to write today. Oh well. We keep going.
Current word count: 11,063
Words written yesterday: 363
Words to goal: 28,937/ 349 words a day til end of September
From time to time, I discover new writing-related blogs, from writers, editors, agents and publishers and add them to my blog roll. My most recent is by Michael Hyatt, CEO of publishing house Thomas Nelson, Inc. The cool thing is he has two, one regular blog and one, called Resources, for short snippets about things he finds useful. My favorites in his Resources posts are the quotes, and the one that stuck out to me the other day was by Helen Keller:
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” –Helen Keller
So, when you’re toiling away at your novel, suffering through rejections and doubts, think that this is all part of your journey, strengthening your soul.
Here’s another:
“The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.” –Old Chinese proverb
This is probably what keeps gamblers continuing to play even after big losses, but for writers, where any loss is only experience gained, this thought can help us keep up our motivation.
Hyatt has lots of other good quotes on the page — I love the one on avoiding writing from P.J. O’Rourke, but it’s long, so I’ll let you click over to read it — so, if you ever need some inspiration, head over there and browse away.
How’s your writing coming?
Write On!
More News on Staff Cuts...
The New York Times reports "Black Wednesday" news--cuts at Random House, S&S, Thomas Nelson, and HMH; departing higher-ups; raise freezes; and other such bad economy fall-out.
David Weinberger blogs about Aaron Swartz talking at the Berkman Center about the Open Library project. Pay close attention to the Q and A and think about this in terms of the Google Books post/article from yesterday. Who is really in faveor of openness? Who talks the most about openness? Want to help? They still need programmers. And book lovers.
Q: Why won’t OCLC give you the data?
A: We’d take it in any form. We’d be willing to pay. Getting through the library bureaucracy is difficult…
A: (terry) You need to find the right person at OCLC
A: We’ve talked with them at a high level and they won’t give us any information. Too bad since they’re a non-profit. Library records are not copyrightable. OCLC contractually binds libraries.
Sounds like a powerfully forthright book. Thanks for sharing it.
very interesting Jean. Must have been a starting read. WHen I started reading your blog I thought this was going to be about our enemy, Satan. Something else to think about.
Carol,<br />When I saw the book and decided to review it I did so because no one else had reviewed it. So, I thought I would give it a shot. I must admit it was a difficult book to read. Not that the reading level or vocabulary was difficult--the subject matter was.<br /><br />Not my usual fare at my reading times.<br /><br />Blessings,<br />Jean