The Stars Never Go Out

Milad, a young Iranian Professor with anti-revolutionary ideals, falls for Yekta during a modern, progressive period in Iran's history. As their love deepens, so does the turmoil in their homeland; shortly after Milad and Yekta unofficially marry, Milad is arrested for spreading criticisms of Islam and must flee Iran, or else he will be executed.

In addition, Milad has prostate cancer, and Yekta discovers that she is pregnant with his child shortly after he leaves. Separated by distance, politics and health, the lovers must survive apart while their hearts pine for one another without end. Even after Milad is cured and Yekta gives birth to a healthy baby girl, they must remain apart, searching for meaning in a world where women and dissidents are so fiercely oppressed that it seems that they will never reunite. Will Milad ever be able to return to his wife and child, who he left in Iran? Will conditions ever improve in Iran? Can either partner find peace without their other half?

This story comes from true experiences that my loved ones and I lived through in Iran. I put them together to tell their stories and give the Western world a glimpse of just how bad the human rights abuses were during that time.