FOR THE LOVE OF A CHILD

Mahmoody's latest is part autobiographical sequel to her bestselling Not Without My Daughter (1987), part collection of stories of other parents who have suffered the international abduction of their children, and part survey of the laws currently affecting these parents and children. Mahmoody illuminates the horror of the crime of international child abduction and the often hopeless complexity and expense of combatting it. After her own harrowing escape with her six-year-old daughter, Mahtob, from her abusive husband in Iran, Mahmoody returned to America, wrote her bestselling book, witnessed its transformation into a hit movie, and became an active lecturer and frequent talk-show guest. But none of these activities distracted her from the main focus of her life—her daughter, for whose presence Mahmoody daily gave thanks and for whose safety she constantly feared, always expecting her ex-husband to show up to take his revenge. The author's celebrity attracted many heartbroken parents to her, men and women who had had their children abducted abroad by foreign-born mates (Muslim cultures are heavily represented among the abductors). From these stories, Mahmoody distills some cautionary advice for anyone contemplating intercultural marriage. As the world grows smaller, marriages between people of vastly different cultures will become more common, she points out, and while this can be a source of great richness, it can also hold unsuspected perils—especially when children arrive and different cultures clash. Mahmoody describes the shocking powerlessness of government to act against the resultant crimes, and describes changes in international law that her and others' efforts have brought about in recent years. A dramatic story of personal courage combined with an eloquent plea for greater protection of the rights of the world's most vulnerable citizens.