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In 2009, three American hikers (and UC Berkeley grads) hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan unknowingly crossed into Iran and were captured by a border patrol. Accused of espionage, they were incarcerated in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison—Sarah, for fourteen months and Josh and Fattal, for two long years. This poignant memoir is their story, as told through a bold and innovative interweaving of the authors’ three voices that recounts the psychological torment of interrogation and the collective strength of will that kept them alive.
Shane Bauer is an award-winning investigative journalist and photographer. His articles have appeared in Mother Jones, The Nation, Salon.com, the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor, and many other publications. In 2013, Shane received the John Jay/Henry Frank Guggenheim Award for Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting.
Josh Fattal, a graduate of Berkeley's program in environmental economics and policy, is an activist and organizer focused on sustainable development. Along with Shourd and Bauer, he has spoken at universities, human rights conferences, and private events to share the experience of imprisonment in Iran.
Sarah Shourd is a writer and human rights activist with the organization United4Iran. She is a regular contributor to Huffington Post and has written for the New York Times, CNN.com, Newsweek/Daily Beast, and other publications.
Arun Rath is the new weekend host of All Things Considered. Previously, Rath was a reporter, producer, and editor, most recently as a senior reporter for the PBS series Frontline and The World® on WGBH Boston, where he specialized in national security and military justice. He has produced three films forFrontline, the latest being an investigation of alleged war crimes committed by U.S. Marines in Haditha, Iraq. Rath also reports on culture and music for the PBS series Sound Tracks.
