image of person or book cover 3147960589703636293.jpg
Cover image courtesy of publisher.
y separately published work icon Leila's Secret single work   autobiography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2015... 2015 Leila's Secret
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'In fundamentalist Iran, new life sometimes means certain death. When Leila comes to see Doctor Karimi, both are in danger.

'Born in a slum to a Muslim father and a Jewish mother, Kooshyar Karimi has transformed himself into a successful doctor, an award-winning writer, and an adoring father. His could be a comfortable life but his conscience won't permit it: he is incapable of turning away the unmarried women who beg him to save their lives by ending the pregnancies that, if discovered, would see them stoned to death.

'One of those women is 22-year-old Leila. Beautiful, intelligent, passionate, she yearns to go to university but her strictly traditional family forbids it. Returning home from the library one day – among the few trips she's allowed out of the house – she meets a handsome shopkeeper, and her fate is sealed. Kooshyar has rescued countless women, but Leila seeks his help for a different reason, one that will haunt him for years afterwards and inspire an impossible quest from faraway Australia.

'Spellbinding and heartbreaking. Leila's Secret shows us everyday life for women in a country where it can be a crime to fall in love. But for all its tragedy, this unforgettable book is paradoxically uplifting, told from the heart of Kooshyar's immense sympathy, in the hope that each of us – and the stories we tell – can make a difference. ' (Publication summary)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Scoresby, Ferntree Gully area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2015 .
      image of person or book cover 3147960589703636293.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 281p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 25th February 2015
      ISBN: 9780670078165

Works about this Work

The Secret Helper Treading a Perilous Line Owen Richardson , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 April 2015; (p. 36) The Age , 4 April 2015; (p. 36)

— Review of Leila's Secret Kooshyar Karimi , 2015 single work autobiography
Kooshyar Karimi Review : A Doctor and the Perils of Iranian Attitudes to Women Owen Richardson , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 27 March 2015;

— Review of Leila's Secret Kooshyar Karimi , 2015 single work autobiography
Review : Leila’s Secret Jenny Summerville , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: Good Reading , March 2015; (p. 58)

— Review of Leila's Secret Kooshyar Karimi , 2015 single work autobiography
Review : Leila’s Secret Jenny Summerville , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: Good Reading , March 2015; (p. 58)

— Review of Leila's Secret Kooshyar Karimi , 2015 single work autobiography
Kooshyar Karimi Review : A Doctor and the Perils of Iranian Attitudes to Women Owen Richardson , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 27 March 2015;

— Review of Leila's Secret Kooshyar Karimi , 2015 single work autobiography
The Secret Helper Treading a Perilous Line Owen Richardson , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 April 2015; (p. 36) The Age , 4 April 2015; (p. 36)

— Review of Leila's Secret Kooshyar Karimi , 2015 single work autobiography
Last amended 21 Nov 2015 18:14:13
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