’For The Love Of A Child’ is Betty Mahmoodys follow up to her renowned book ’Not Without My Daughter’. In order to explain this book I must first give a brief overview of ’Not Without My Daughter’.
’Not Without My Daughter’ is the account of an American woman escaping Iran where her husband has held her and theor daughter captive. It covers raw subjects such as domestic violence, culture clashes and Iranian-American relations to name but a few.
It was highly controversial once published and was said to portray Iranians as backwards and tyrannical. It was one of two books banned in Iran.
’For The Love Of A Child’ is an account of Betty and Mathobs return, their attempt to integrate with American life once more, the making of the film ’Not Without My Daughter’ and most importantly stories of other international child abductions.
The book begins with Betty and Mahtob returning to Michigan and how Bettys family suffered due to her ordeal. She returns to find her father emaciated with cancer, her sons traumatised and the media enthralled by her story. She is soon drawn in to the media hype surrounding her and Mahtobs tale.
Betty uses her new found fame to highlight the plight of other ’left behind’ parents. For anyone who previously saw her as racist or a liar, this book may settle such fears. One example of her open minded approach to the subject of international abduction is when she shares the story of a woman whos children were taken to Iraq, this woman talks of how hospitable Iraqi’s are, something that brought her through her ordeal. This illustration of middle eastern culture as being welcoming bears a stark contrast to Mahmoody’s previous
book, painting those of Islamic descent in an altogether better light. The book explores the issue of international abduction on an international level, sharing stories of western women kidnapping their middle eastern husbands children and vice-versa. This really highlights international abductions as a worldwide and multicultural issue and does not point the finger of blame at just Muslim fathers, something the previous book was highly criticised for.
There is a lack of hype within ’For The Love Of A Child’ and it is an altogether more sensible and less personal view of domestic violence, international abductions and middle eastern/western culture. The last book, without intention, created a stereotype surrounding the overall treatment of women within Muslim culture.
The hype surrounding it painted Christians as racist and Betty as a fantasist. This book is calming and adopts a friendlier, more intellectual approach. The most beautiful thing about the book is how Betty prevents Mahtob from holding her father in contempt and encourages her to embrace her Persian roots.
Although this book isn’t as exciting it is far more interesting. A must read for those who wish to know what happened to Betty and Mahtob when they returned and for those who doubt Bettys credibility.