A sixteen-year-old girl’s courage shines as a beacon of unity and peace in this moving true account. Growing up among the poets and roses of Shiraz—hallowed ground for the Bahá’í Faith—Mona Mahmudnizhad witnessed her community’s suffering after Iran’s 1979 revolution. As hostility intensified, ten innocent women were condemned in June 1983, earning the somber epithet “The Brides of the City.” Mona, the youngest, embraced her fate with unwavering dignity, kissing the rope that would end her life rather than renounce her beliefs.

Drawing on intimate first-person reflections and rich family testimonies collected over nearly three decades by Mona’s mother, Mrs. Farkhundih, and sister, Taraneh, this narrative reveals profound lessons in transforming fear into courage, anger into serenity, and despair into hope. Crafted for young readers yet resonating across all ages, it preserves the voices of those who survived and honors the saintly devotion of a family whose legacy illuminates the path toward a brighter, more just world.