Given Away

by Nahid Rachlin

In 1930s Iran, ten-year-old Mehri is given away in marriage, the first step in a life shaped by forced motherhood, loss, and sacrifice. Alone and afraid, she navigates married life far from the support of her mother and sisters. Pregnant by thirteen, Mehri bears child after child, losing many along the way, and struggles to mother her five surviving children through a haze of grief. In Given Away, Nahid Rachlin traces the hidden scars of her family's history, carved by a system that grants men complete control and strips women of their voices. Yet within that silence, Rachlin reveals a quiet resistance rooted in sisterhood, love, and endurance.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published June 16, 2026

About the author

Books by Nahid Rachlin: nahidr@rcn.com
http://www.amazon.com/Nahid-
Nahid Rachlin went to Columbia University Writing Program on a Doubleday-Columbia Fellowship and then went on to Stanford University MFA program on a Stegner Fellowship. Her publications include a memoir, PERSIAN GIRLS (Penguin), four novels, JUMPING OVER FIRE (City Lights), FOREIGNER (W.W. Norton), MARRIED TO A STRANGER (E.P.Dutton-Penguin), THE HEART'S DESIRE (City Lights), and a collection of short stories, VEILS (City Lights). CROWD OF SORROWS, (Kindle Singles).

You can listen to my reading of three flash-fiction stories at https://soundcloud.com/roommagazine/t...

Her individual short stories have appeared in more than fifty magazines, including The Virginia Quarterly Review, Prairie Schooner, Redbook, Shenandoah. One of her stories was adopted by Symphony Space, “Selected Shorts,” and was aired on NPR’s around the country and two stories were nominated for Pushcart Prize. Her work has received favorable reviews in major magazines and newspapers and translated into Portuguese, Polish, Italian, Dutch, German, Arabic, and Persian. She has been interviewed in NPR stations such as All Things Considered (Terry Gross), P&W magazine, Writers Chronicle. She has written reviews and essays for New York Times, Newsday, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. Other grants and awards she has received include the Bennet Cerf Award, PEN Syndicated Fiction Project Award, and a National Endowment for the Arts grant. She has taught creative writing at Barnard College, Yale University and at a wide variety of writers conferences, including Paris Writers Conference, Geneva Writers Conference, and Yale Writers Conference. She has been judge for several fiction awards and competitions, among them, Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction (2015) sponsored by AWP, Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award sponsored by Poets & Writers, Katherine Anne Porter Fiction Prize, University of Maryland, English Dept, Teichmann Fiction Prize, Barnard College, English Dept. For more please click on her website: website: http://www.nahidrachlin.com

Reviews

[Gina Sanchez]

This book follows Mehri and Masoumeh, 10 years and 12 years, and their families, as they navigate life in Iran after getting married as child brides. This book was depressing because it shows (again) how little rights women have had throughout history. I think it showed the resilience these women had when faced with no other options.

[Alexander Mitchell]

The book gave me plenty to think about, particularly in the questions it raises and the ideas it leaves open for consideration. I found myself reflecting on certain concepts after reading, although not every argument felt equally developed or intellectually challenging. There’s enough substance to keep the mind engaged, but the experience is more thought-provoking in places than consistently compelling.

[Scarlett Phillips]

Given Away has a meaningful story at its core, but it didn’t fully work for me. The writing is simple and easy to follow, but the pacing felt slow and I never became very attached to the characters. Some parts were moving, but overall, I expected more depth and found the book only okay.

[Nandini]

3.5 stars; this book had some specific moments of impact and overarching themes that were thought-provoking, but the overall structure and writing style were not really my cup of tea