Growing up Jewish in Tehran, Roya Hakakian had an idyllic childhood until Ayatollah Khomenyi returned to power in 1979, when she was 13. Her intellectual family of writers and thinkers was in jeopardy, and political asylum became an increasingly viable option. As she writes about Iran in those days, Hakakian brings to life the daily existence of a vibrant people increasingly oppressed by a fundamentalist government. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.