Cookies in Iran

"What I am sharing here is the story of what was easily the most adventurous, yet nerve-wracking month of my life."

My passport was gone, the internet was completely shut down, and the secret service was breathing down my neck. What begins as the ultimate road trip adventure in a Mercedes ambulance transforms, right in the middle of Iran, into an absolute nightmare for me. Forced by closed borders to temporarily leave my mobile home behind in Shiraz, I return in the winter of 2026 only to find myself caught in the relentless grinding wheels of the justice system.

The absurd charge: car smuggling. The devastating ultimatum: a $48,000 bail, or prison.

Trapped in the vacuum of a nationwide internet blackout, cut off from my family, and facing imprisonment in the midst of a period of peak military paranoia, a heart-pounding race against time begins. This book is my deeply personal account of fear, tears of helplessness, and the boundless power of friendship in a country on the brink.

It is a story of extreme contrasts. A world where the unyielding cruelty of a merciless judicial apparatus dictates my fate, while a simple box of pistachio cookies suddenly opens doors that were supposed to remain locked forever.

A profound, authentic look behind the scenes of Iran, far removed from the media headlines, straight from the heart of the action. Discover how an adventurous journey turned into an unpredictable battle for my own freedom.