Someone has said that the death of one person is a tragedy but the death of a million people is a statistic. The point is that when the number of victims gets that large, people cannot comprehend the tragedy, while looking at one victim in detail brings understanding and revulsion at the perpetrators.

Some months ago, Ghazaleh Nozamani and Darci Reeves contacted me for help in publishing a book called I Dared to Dream.

The promotional description of the book is as follows: Growing up in the heart of Tehran, Ghazaleh Nozamani’s childhood was shaped by the 1979 Islamic Revolution that shook Iran and the cultural restrictions that followed. In this deeply moving memoir, she chronicles her struggle with societal expectations and her rebellion against rigid religious and gender norms. With resilience and courage, she attempted to navigate the shifting political landscape. At twenty years old, she found herself imprisoned, tortured, and nearly broken by the forces determined to silence her. She endured unimaginable suffering and almost lost hope. But each time she was ready to give up, something beyond her intervened, bringing light into the darkest moments and guiding her toward freedom. This book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the mysterious ways in which hope and grace can find us, even when we least expect it.

The book is Ghazaleh’s story. She enlisted her friend Darci Reeves, a gifted writer, to help tell the story in English, and I contributed editing and layout work. The book has now been published through Kindle Direct Publishing.

I have been a professional writer and editor for forty years, and I have rarely encountered a book as powerful and as moving as this one. The news media have reported on the tens of thousands of people brutalized, tortured, and killed by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This book provides a deeper understanding of the magnitude of that brutal statistic through the eyes of one of the victims. I commented to Ghazaleh that more than once I had been brought to tears during the editing process. She apologized for that. I responded that there must be something wrong with anyone who could read this book without crying.

One of Ghazaleh’s most telling insights is her realization that the shocking atrocities she experienced were perpetrated by other human beings, ordinary human beings.

The book does have a happy ending. After a long journey, Ghazaleh Nozamani was able to reach Canada and build a new life in a free country. She is the founder of Love Without Borders, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping refugees and newcomers and vulnerable citizens in the community.

I Dared to Dream by Ghazaleh Nozamani as told to Darci Reeves is available through Amazon.