Just finished an interesting book, Daughter of Persia, which is an autobiography by Sattareh Farman Farmaian.

She was born in Iran in the 1920s, 15th of 36 children to a man who at one time was very powerful. It's a fascinating story about her and the history of Iran. Her father, very unusually for the time, believed in educating all his children, even the girls, and after completing high school she longed to study abroad like her brothers. However, as much as her father believed in some education, that was going too far. After he died, during World War II, she decided to go to America to study, even though, by traveling alone as a woman, she risked shaming her family.

She studied social work and eventually went back to Iran, where she started a school in Tehran for social work. She tried to stay out of politics and just help people, but in the 1970s, with Khomeni coming to power, her own students tried to arrest her and have her killed. She managed to escape to America and has lived here ever since.

One of those books that makes you realize how good your own life really is and how lucky you are to live in a society with religious and political freedom. Yeah, I complain about separation of church and state, and the Patriot Act, but when you compare living in the United States with living someplace like Iran, it puts it all into perspective. I don't have to worry about my coworkers turning me in to the secret police, or being forced to sign my allegiance to the country's only political party. I 'm grateful to live in this country.