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Lillian was a college freshman, a promising theater major facing the challenge of Stargardt’s disease, a condition that was causing her to go blind. When, in the fall of 2009, Lillian became sick, she assured her parents it was just the flu. Four days later she was in the university hospital, relying on a machine to breathe for her.Based on her father’s journal, this memoir describes what it’s like to live through a parent’s worst nightmare, conveying the heart-wrenching ups and downs of Lillian’s time in the hospital. At the same time, it recounts the life of a remarkable young woman who, despite the gradual loss of her sight, was determined to finish high school, attend college far from home, and embark on an independent life. This, her parents told each other, was the hardest struggle their daughter would ever face.Yet, as Lillian lay tethered to life-support, each day a parry against time, her father realized that every challenge his daughter ever faced was only a backdrop for these few, excruciating days in which she fought for her life.

Our Friend Mona tells the true story of Mona Mahmudnizhad, a 16-year-old girl who sacrificed her life for unity and peace in the world. Mona grew up in Shiraz-a city famous for its poets and roses. Shiraz is also a city sacred to Baha'is, for it is where their Faith began. And it was in that holy city, after revolution swept through Iran in 1979, where the persecutions against the peaceful Baha'is grew most fierce. The violence reached a peak in June of 1983 with the hanging of ten women, lovely and innocent souls that the people named "The Brides of the City." The youngest of these was last to go, and Mona kissed the rope that would end her earthly life.Azadeh Rohanian Perry was blessed to also grow up in Shiraz. She and her family were touched by the lives of many of the martyrs and heroic souls of that period. Among them, Azadeh got to know Mona and her saintly father, Yadu'llah. This book provides Azadeh's first-person perspective along with detailed accounts of Mona and her family shared by Mona's mother and sister-Mrs. Farkhundih and Taraneh Mahmudnizhad, both of whom survived that period of persecution. Reading Mona's story, and the stories of those other wonderful souls who suffered with her, brings us closer to a secret they uncovered: How can you turn fear into courage, anger into calm, and despair at the darkness and injustice in the world into a hopeful vision of humanity's bright future?FROM THE PREFACE:"My husband Mark and I decided to put this book together because there is no single volume available on Mona's life. There are several important books that share the stories of the persecution of the Bahá'ís of Iran, and some of them provided important source material for this work. We could see that Mona's life, although brief, would easily fill a book of its own. We especially felt moved to share the story in a manner understandable to youth and junior youth . . ."[W]e must credit a third contributor. That is Mona's mother, Mrs. Farkhundih Mahmudnizhad, who told the stories of her famous daughter and saintly husband tirelessly for 28 years until her passing in 2011. Her writings about Mona and her father, both published and unpublished, have provided a large amount of the material in this book. This book is a continuation of her attempt to share with the world the stories of their unbelievable heroism and love."