From Miniskirt to Hijab

A Girl in Revolutionary Iran

By: Jacqueline Saper

Narrated by: Vaneh Assadourian

Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Jacqueline Saper, named after Jacqueline Kennedy, was born in Tehran to Iranian and British parents. At 18 she witnessed the civil unrest of the 1979 Iranian revolution and continued to live in the Islamic Republic during its most volatile times, including the Iran-Iraq War. In a deeply intimate and personal story, Saper recounts her privileged childhood in prerevolutionary Iran and how she gradually became aware of the paradoxes in her life and community - primarily the disparate religions and cultures.

In 1979 under the Ayatollah regime, Iran became increasingly unfamiliar and hostile to Saper. Seemingly overnight she went from living a carefree life of wearing miniskirts and attending high school to listening to fanatic diatribes, forced to wear the hijab, and hiding in the basement as Iraqi bombs fell over the city. She eventually fled to the United States in 1987 with her husband and children after, in part, witnessing her six-year-old daughter’s indoctrination into radical Islamic politics at school. At the heart of Saper’s story is a harrowing and instructive tale of how extremist ideologies seized a Westernized, affluent country and transformed it into a fundamentalist Islamic society.

©2018 Jaqueline Saper (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

Breathtaking

It was a breathtaking and emotional to listen to this storu. Thank you for sharing your experience. The detailed descriptions of places, clothing, lifestyle and expressions is very genuine that it makes you travel through time and place to that era. I wished there were more details of life of the rest of the family remained there and the authors feelings and changes while settling in the US. Great book and wish you all success!

loved this book

This author/narrator did an excellent job of telling her story while also explaining the history and circumstances of Iran. It was like listening to a dear friend recount her experiences and every time I put it down, I couldn't wait to get back to hear the rest of her story.

Surprisingly Good

I had no idea this book was about a Jewish family. Being Jewish myself, I was enraptured. A must read. So much insight.

A compelling historical narrative!

I finished the whole book in one go! It was a very interesting story, n it also piqued my curiosity to look up the history of the Persian n Iranian revolution. People must learn from history; with what’s happening in today’s world, I am sad to feel that some parts of the world are replaying some dark chapters of history.

Makes you feel you were there

This book is a beautifully written and read collection of stories from the inflection point of a country’s history. I started it to hear a more detailed perspective on the countries so often in the news. Each anecdote has very satisfying details and paints a vivid picture of how it must feel to live under the huge stress of living in a country whose value system is changing underneath your feet.

It blew my mind!

it's crazy how relatable it was even for someone who has not experienced those things exactly. and the performance was on point. it made me pretty emotional. loved it. 🥺😍👌

Very good documentary book

Very informative and good documentary autobiographical book. I enjoyed listening to it very much indeed.

Absolutely Wonderful

Eye opening and engrossing to the very end. Wonderful narration. I didn’t want the book to end.

Highly Recommend

This book is both breathtaking and incredibly moving. The author’s first hand account of pre and post-revolution Iran served as a somber reminder of how quickly life can change. Not only was I immediately gripped by the narrator’s story, there were also many times during this book when I was left with a profound sense of gratitude. 10/10 recommend.

Special shoutout goes to the narrator; She is a master of her craft and sheer joy to listen to!

Great story, but very slow start

The story was great, but had a slow start. I don't know who the targeted audience was for this story, but, as an American, I found the start slow. I knew the story would have a turning point that would get me hooked, but it took much longer than normal.
The beginning of the story starts off by telling a lot of details about a life style most Americans know and understand. I think it would have been better if the beginning would briefly tell how great life was before the change, or describe the culture and religion more than the normal day to day life. Then after a short beginning chapter dive into where all things began to change.

It would have been even better if details were given so we can see the buildings and people, even the styles of the day, so we readers and listeners can feel the experience ourselves rather than get a history book lesson from it.

overall, the story is great, but I honestly think a lot more work is needed to make it truly phenomenal.