Moody didn’t seem to be looking for a job, and all he did by way of inquiries was to send his nephews out to ask after the status of his physician’s license. He spent his days lazing about the house and began to attend anti-American rallies. It was on one of those days when Betty found herself alone with his family, all gradually succumbing to their afternoon slumber. She saw an opportunity to call the number of the US Interest section of the Swiss Embassy that her mother had given her on a stealth phone call. She wasn’t able to speak to anyone as she was trying to be as quiet as possible, but Fereshteh saw her on the phone and told Moody as soon as he walked in. He had an absolute fit and threatened Betty like never before against using the phone again. This is a gripping, little-known follow-up to Betty Mahmoody's superb Not Without My Daughter. For those wondering what happened to Mahmoody and her daughter following their harrowing escape, the answers are here. Mahmoody described in great detail how they had to drastically change virtually every aspect of their lives after returning to the United States to ensure their future safety. Perhaps only those in a witness protection program can truly relate. Days of mourning followed the sad event, and Betty managed to secure the role of childminder for all fifteen children in the family. This gave her the opportunity to make some essential phone calls. She arranged to meet Helen at the park and couldn’t reach Miss Alavi. The call that did not go in her favor was with Ellen. Ellen had told Hormoz all about Betty’s request and plan to escape, and he had insisted she tell Moody now. Ellen believed if she didn’t do so, she would be violating her Islamic duty. Betty begged her not to and promised to tell Moody herself. She could not believe her undoing may come from a fellow American. Not Without My Daughter is a biographical book by Betty Mahmoody detailing the escape of Betty and her daughter, Mahtob, from Betty's abusive husband in Iran.

In 1987, American housewife Betty Mahmoody published Not Without My Daughter, which became a sensation. In the book, Betty claimed that she and Mahtob, her five-year-old daughter, had been kidnapped from the USA in 1984 and imprisoned in Tehran by her Iranian husband, Dr Sayed Mahmoody - aka ‘Moody’ - a man she vilified as a violent, sadistic monster. The next day, another strange woman showed up at the house asking for Moody. She said she was diabetic and her family didn’t believeher. Her husband was fighting the war, and she desperately needed Moody’s help. He told her he couldn’t help, but he strongly suspected she was a CIA agent. This brought another dimension to Betty’s understanding of her own sheltered experience. Had her cries for help reached as far as the States? Betty landed in Iran at the turning point of this transition. The country had just ousted the Shah and gone to war with Iraq. As with any war, nationalist and religious sentiment was at its height. Another sentiment that reigned the mood of the day was hostility towards the United States for supplying arms to both sides. It can be incredibly difficult to separate the two, especially for someone hailing from small towns. Aga and Khanum Hakim asked Betty and Mahtob to attend English language Quran classes in an effort to have Betty see the beauty in Islam. They wanted her to convert but only of her own free will. They also encouraged Moody to allow Betty out more often. Betty started the recommended Quran classes and met another woman who was from Michigan.

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The score by Jerry Goldsmith was also not well received. Jay Boyar of the Orlando Sentinel called it "TV-movie manipulative", [10] while Jason Ankeny of AllMusic wrote, "Jerry Goldsmith's score does little to refute its opponents' charges of racism." [11] Awards and nominations [ edit ] Ebert, Roger (January 11, 1991). "Not Without My Daughter (review)". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved 2014-07-08.

Boyar, Jay (11 January 1991). " 'Not Without My Daughter'-Good Comes With The Bad". Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved 11 June 2015. Sally Field was excellent in the role of Betty and Alfred Molina was also disturbingly believable as "Moody" - her husband. As the story opens, the family are living a comfortable life in Michigan and Moody is a completely Americanized doctor working in a local hospital - a loving husband and father. Against her better judgement, Betty agrees to visit his family in Iran - a family more radically Islamic than Moody who from the moment they arrive begin to pressure him to stay and adopt their ways. Molina did a good job of showing the gradual changes in Moody's character and as he becomes more and more abusive and controlling toward Betty. Field superbly portrays Betty's growing desperation and her feelings of helplessness (and hopelessness) as every opportunity for her to escape with her daughter seems to close. Finally, with the help of some sympathetic Iranians, Betty and daughter Mahtoub make a mad escape attempt toward Turkey. Not Without My Daughter and My Name is Mahtob both paint a picture of Moody as a stubborn, obsessive monster. By this logic, he should have followed them to the States as soon as they went missing. As both books testify, he never actually showed up. This question is answered in Lost Without My Daughter. Moody relates how Betty pushed her departure until after his green card had expired, and she took his Iranian passport with her, buying herself some time. Betty met Moody’s entire family as soon as they came out, including his sister Ameh Bozorg, who had raised him. On the way home, Ameh Bozorg gave Betty a loose coat called a montoe and a scarf called a roosarie which Betty would need when heading out on the street at all times. Betty was confronted with a freshly slaughtered goat over which they needed to step over to re-enter the house.

They raced to the hospital, which happened to be just across the street from the embassy. Betty prayed that Mahtob would not show recognition for their whereabouts. They found out she had been taken to another hospital and her mother Nastaran had gone home. They headed home to support her and wait for her father, Morteza. He arrived soon after with the sad news that she had died.

Not Without My Daughter is an account of her experiences in 1984–1986 when she left Alpena, Michigan to go to Iran with her husband and daughter for what she was promised would be a short visit. Once there, she and her daughter were held against their will. The book was made into a 1991 film starring Sally Field as Betty.As I think about concluding my review, I bump up against the question haunting me through months of reading all three: Would I recommend them? In the writing of this review, I have found that answer. Yes, I would. No book should ever be condemned because it doesn’t fit within the current world or offend your sensibilities. Read all three, do your own research, and form your own opinion.