Book Reviews

New Book by: Lida Berghuis (Author)

This book is a compilation of my diary entries from when I was 12-16 years old, 1976-1980. The Islamic revolution took place in 1979 and just months before that my family left Iran for Canada because we were Bahá’ís and afraid of the persecution that would follow this regime change. This is also the story of immigration with all its challenges and joys.

Imagine a fourteen-year-old girl in Iran, writing in her diaries, and suddenly finding herself and her family at the Bahrein Airport, leaving Iran, because of the rumblings of a revolution and fear of persecution as a Bahá’í family. Her family goes to London for a month, intending to return to Iran, but the situation gets worse by the day, and finally the regime in Iran changes to an Islamic Republic. Her family never returns. Instead, they immigrate to Canada and build a new life in their adopted country.

This book is the story of religious persecution. The Bahá’ís who stayed in Iran paid a great price.  Some were imprisoned and some were killed, and many had their belongings confiscated. The youth were deprived of university education and the Bahá’ís were not allowed to work in the public sector. Those who left Iran had to start their lives all over in a new land with new rules, sometimes able to work, sometimes unable to transfer their skills to that country.

This book is the story of immigration. A family of four leaves Iran and arrives in Canada and tries to navigate its way in a new system, a new language, and a new culture. Immigration can lead to freedom of religion and thought but it has its own challenges for the members of the family who will respond differently to those issues.

This book is the story of a young girls who writes daily in her diary and wonders if one day she can publish it in a book and tell her story to the world.

I’m very pleased to say that that dream has been realized. I hope you enjoy reading the book which is available on Amazon. If you leave a review, I will be most grateful.

S5 Box