Published 2026 - print and ebook edition
Was It Worth It?
A Story of Leaving, Losing and Becoming
A memoir about leaving Iran, exile, and searching for belonging while her father is imprisoned. Just days before leaving Iran, intelligence agents stormed her family's home. Years later, she still carries the cost of that departure.
A deeply personal reflection on loss, identity, and resilience across borders.
“A fierce and tender memoir that captures the toll of displacement through a daughter's quest to gain her father's freedom while searching for a sense of belonging far from family and home.” — Donia Bijan, author of Maman’s Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen and The Last Days of Café Leila
" A valuable book that raises important questions about the meaning of home and trying to fit in when all the familiar has been taken away." — Marina Nemat, author of Prisoner of Tehran, After Tehran, and Mistress of the Persian Boarding House
"Maryam's stories are vivid, searing, and tender.” — Roya Shariat, author of Maman and Me: Recipes from Our Iranian American Family
"Lucid as she is evocative, Maryam Rafiee delights us whether she is telling tales of her Iranian upbringing or the sweet and bitter tales of her challenging immigration to Canada.” — Arash Azizi, author of What Iranians Want
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