Podcast appearances and mentions of Sarah Shourd

Journalist, author, and playwright Sarah Shourd shares the songs that helped her though a childhood steeped in violence and poverty, and the 410 days she spent in solitary confinement as a political hostage in Iran. From screaming along to Rage Against the Machine as a teenager to belting out ‘Crazy' by Seal in her prison cell, Sarah's always used her voice. Now, she speaks out against the use of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons and mass incarceration. Here are her songs. She's Got her Ticket - Tracy Chapman  Killing in the Name -  Rage Against the Machine Crazy - Seal At Last - Etta James ELEMENT. - Kendrick Lamar  Suit of Armour - Danika Smith  This Joy - Resistance Revival Chorus Listen to Sarah Shourd's full playlist on Spotify. Find the transcript of this episode at lifeinsevensongs.com. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at lifeinsevensongs@sfstandard.com.

After accidentally crossing the border into Iran on a hike with her friend and her partner, a woman is detained and held for over a year in solitary confinement, awakening to the sobering realities of oppression and the fight for a new path to justice.Today's episode featured Sarah Shourd. Sarah Shourd is an award-winning narrative change leader and a somatic coach trained in trauma transformation. She is an author, playwright, trauma-informed investigative journalist, former Stanford John S. Knight Fellow and co-founder of The End of Isolation Tour and Documentary. For over a decade, since being held as a political hostage by the Iranian government, her work has focused on exposing the impact of mass incarceration and using storytelling to promote healing and reimagine justice outside prisons and jails. You can contact Sarah at shourdsomatics@gmail.com or on Instagram @SarahShourd. You can find out more about Sarah and her work at: sarahshourd.com, shourdsomatics.com, endofisolation.org, sarahshourd.substack.com Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Aviva LipkowitzContent/Trigger Warnings: SA, divorce, domestic violence/abuse, drug/alcohol use, arrest/prison, solitary confinement, arrest abroad, divorce, explicit languageWe'd love to hear your opinions and feedback! Please find the Anonymous Listener Survey link here. Thank you for your efforts. Social Media:Instagram: @actuallyhappeningTwitter: @TIAHPodcastWebsite: thisisactuallyhappening.comWebsite for Andrew Waits: andrdewwaits.comWebsite for Aviva Lipkowitz: avivalipkowitz.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon: patreon.com/happeningWondery Plus: All episodes of the show prior to episode #130 are now part of the Wondery Plus premium service. To access the full catalog of episodes, and get all episodes ad free, sign up for Wondery Plus at wondery.com/plusShop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link: thisisactuallyhappening.com/shop to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop. Transcripts: Full transcripts of each episode are now available on the website, thisisactuallyhappening.comIntro Music: ""Illabye"" – TipperMusic Bed: Ambient ThemesServicesIf you or someone you know is struggling with the effects of trauma or mental illness, please refer to the following resources:National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Text or Call 988 National Alliance on Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)Be the first to know about Wondery's newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterListen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/this-is-actually-happening/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On July 8th, 2013 people being help in prisons across California stopped eating. They were protesting the state's use of ⁠solitary confinement⁠. 29,000 inmates participated in the strike. On this episode, you'll hear about the origins of this mass movement and how it impacted policy and perception around the use of solitary in the United States. --- Eduardo Dumbrique is studying to become a lawyer through an apprenticeship with the PJLC. Mr. Dumbrique began his legal studies during the 24 years he spent in prison, convicted of a crime he did not commit. As a jailhouse lawyer, Ed successfully litigated Title XV and civil rights cases against the state, including Dumbrique v. Brunner, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105791, in which he sought relief for prison guards' retaliation against him for his participation in a hunger strike protesting solitary confinement. Now, free and fully exonerated, Ed works to ensure that children and their families are treated equitably and fairly within the juvenile justice system. He travels and speaks on his experience as someone wrongfully convicted and sent to adult prison at age 15. He has spoken to high school students and youth in juvenile halls and camps, sharing his story and encouraging them to cherish their lives and futures. Sarah Shourd is an award-winning, trauma-informed investigative journalist, Pulitzer-presented playwright, anti-prison theater activist, author, producer, somatic practicioner and 2019 Stanford John S. Knight Fellow based in Oakland and San Rafael, CA. Dolores Canales is Co-Founder of California Families Against Solitary Confinement --- Each day at the Detroit Justice Center our team fights to reunite families, lift barriers to employment and housing, and strengthen communities by supporting small businesses and land trusts. We're building a more equitable and just Detroit, and we need your help. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To support our work click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Freedom Dreams Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Freedom Dreams IG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Freedom Dreams Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Detroit Justice Center⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Detroit Justice Center IG⁠

This week, Caits Meissner and Nicole Shawan Junior discuss their contributions to The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting A Writer's Life in Prison. They are joined by Alicia Brown. The following conversation originally took place May 15, 2022 and was recorded live at the American Writers Festival. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME More about The Sentences That Create Us: The Sentences That Create Us provides a road map for incarcerated people and their allies to have a thriving writing life behind bars—and shared beyond the walls—that draws on the unique insights of more than fifty contributors, most themselves justice-involved, to offer advice, inspiration and resources. The Sentences That Create Us draws from the unique insights of over fifty justice-involved contributors and their allies to offer inspiration and resources for creating a literary life in prison. Centering in the philosophy that writers in prison can be as vibrant and capable as writers on the outside, and have much to offer readers everywhere, The Sentences That Create Us aims to propel writers in prison to launch their work into the world beyond the walls, while also embracing and supporting the creative community within the walls. The Sentences That Create Us is a comprehensive resource writers can grow with, beginning with the foundations of creative writing. A roster of impressive contributors including Reginald Dwayne Betts (Felon: Poems), Mitchell S. Jackson (Survival Math), Wilbert Rideau (In the Place of Justice) and Piper Kerman (Orange is the New Black), among many others, address working within and around the severe institutional, emotional, psychological and physical limitations of writing prison through compelling first-person narratives. The book's authors offer pragmatic advice on editing techniques, pathways to publication, writing routines, launching incarcerated-run prison publications and writing groups, lesson plans from prison educators and next-step resources. Threaded throughout the book is the running theme of addressing lived trauma in writing, and writing's capacity to support an authentic healing journey centered in accountability and restoration. While written towards people in the justice system, this book can serve anyone seeking hard won lessons and inspiration for their own creative—and human—journey. The Sentences That Create Us includes contributions from Alexa Alemanni; Raquel Almazan; Ellen Bass; Reginald Dwayne Betts; Keri Blakinger; Jennifer Bowen; Zeke Caligiuri; Sterling Cunio; Chris Daley; Curtis Dawkins; Emile DeWeaver; Casey Donahue; Ryan Gattis; Eli Hager; Ashley Hamilton, PhD; Kenneth Hartman; Elizabeth Hawes; Randall Horton; Spoon Jackson; Mitchell S. Jackson; Nicole Shawan Junior; Yukari Iwatani Kane, Shaheen Pasha, and Kate McQueen of The Prison Journalism Project; Piper Kerman; Lauren Kessler; Johnny Kovatch; Doran Larson; Victoria Law; Jaeah Lee; John J. Lennon; Arthur Longworth; T Kira Mahealani Madden; J. D. Mathes; Justin Rovillos Monson; Lateef Mtima, JD; Vivian D. Nixon; Patrick O'Neil; Liza Jessie Peterson; Wilbert Rideau; Alejo Rodriguez; Luis J. Rodriguez; Susan Rosenberg; Geraldine Sealey; Sarah Shourd; Sarah Shourd; Anderson Smith, PhD; Derek R. Trumbo Sr.; Louise K. WaaKaa'igan; Andy Warner; Thomas Bartlett Whitaker; John R. Whitman, PhD; Saint James Harris Wood; Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor of Ear Hustle; and Jeffery L. Young.

Sarah Shourd is an award-winning, trauma-informed investigative journalist, author, playwright, anti-prison theater activist, and 2018 Stanford John S. Knight Fellow based in Oakland and San Rafael, CA.Support SarahCheck out our LIVE EventsSend us feedback at media@amplifyrj.comJoin our Mighty Networks platform to connect with other people doing this work!Rep Amplify RJ Merch You can connect with Amplify RJ:Email list, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Website, Reading list, YouTube, and TikTok!SUPPORT by sharing this podcast, leaving a rating or review, or make a tax-deductible DONATION to help us sustain and grow this movementJoin David and Kala on Sunday March 19, 9am Pacific/12pm Eastern for a LIVE workshop on Freedom Dreaming a Thriving Community (even under apocalyptic circumstances).Support the showSupport the show

FROM THE VAULT | Enjoy this inspiring re-released episode from Season 3:You understand isolation from your COVID days. And you know that there was more than one occasion when you thought you'd go crazy being stuck in that space, away from the people and the activities that you loved. Now imagine doing that in captivity halfway around the world, locked in a single cement cell, not understanding the language, and having no information about whether you would be killed or released. And imagine being in that situation for 410 days. This is the story of Sarah Shourd, an American journalist who wandered into Iran unknowingly and faced the trial of her life

Original Air Date: 09/23/2010She was a hiker accused of being an American spy and was held hostage in an Iranian prison for 14 months. Just days after her return to the United States, Sarah Shourd talks to Oprah. Plus, a woman's ex-boyfriend put up an ad to get revenge. The Craigslist rape survivor reveals her identity and tells her story for the first time.

For Episode 5, we're doing a two-part series with PEN America. For Part 1, we speak to Sarah Shourd and Robert Pollock. Robert is the manager of the Prison and Justice Writing Program. The program just published a new craft handbook called The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting a Writer's Life in Prison. Sarah Shourd is one of the handbook's talented contributors.Sarah Shourd is not only an essayist, but also a journalist and playwright. Sarah reads to us from her essay about writing a play based on her experience in solitary confinement in Iran. She talks to us about the trajectory of her work, and how she balances art and activism in her life.

You understand isolation from your COVID days. And you know that there was more than one occasion when you thought you'd go crazy being stuck in that space, away from the people and the activities that you loved. Now imagine doing that in captivity halfway around the world, locked in a single cement cell, not understanding the language, and having no information about whether you would be killed or released. And imagine being in that situation for 410 days. This is the story of Sarah Shourd, an American journalist who wandered into Iran unknowingly and faced the trial of her life. 

In 2009, three American hikers were arrested and jailed after they crossed an unmarked border into Iran while on holiday in Iraqi Kurdistan. Sarah Shourd was released first and fought a long campaign to get her friends Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal released from prison in Teheran. Their freedom was eventually brokered by diplomats from Oman – opening up a diplomatic channel between Iran and the US which was later used in their nuclear negotiations. Sarah Shourd talks to Simon Watts. PHOTO: Sarah Shourd, centre, with the mothers of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal (Getty Images)

Prudence is joined this week by Sarah Shourd, a multi-media journalist based in Oakland, California. Her work combines fiction with rigorous journalism to elevate marginalized voices. She’s now working collaboratively on a graphic novel as a JSK Fellow at Stanford. Together they tackle letters about what to do when you find yourself with diminishing social invitations because of your sickliness, how to handle your husband who wants to reconnect with his friend who was convicted of possession of child pornography, how to put the brakes on a new overbearing friendship without offending them, what to consider when the love of your life offers you good (not great) sex, how to handle a soon to be sister-in-law who demands that you remove pictures of your brother’s deceased first wife from your home. Slate Plus members will hear Prudie and Sarah discuss a letter writer who is wondering how to stop her distant family members from using her beach house without causing a family rift.  Not yet a member? Sign up at Slate.com/PrudiePod. Email: prudencepodcast@gmail.com Production by Phil Surkis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prudence is joined this week by Sarah Shourd, a multi-media journalist based in Oakland, California. Her work combines fiction with rigorous journalism to elevate marginalized voices. She’s now working collaboratively on a graphic novel as a JSK Fellow at Stanford. Together they tackle letters about what to do when you find yourself with diminishing social invitations because of your sickliness, how to handle your husband who wants to reconnect with his friend who was convicted of possession of child pornography, how to put the brakes on a new overbearing friendship without offending them, what to consider when the love of your life offers you good (not great) sex, how to handle a soon to be sister-in-law who demands that you remove pictures of your brother’s deceased first wife from your home. Slate Plus members will hear Prudie and Sarah discuss a letter writer who is wondering how to stop her distant family members from using her beach house without causing a family rift.  Not yet a member? Sign up at Slate.com/PrudiePod. Email: prudencepodcast@gmail.com Production by Phil Surkis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2014, Shane Bauer was hired for $9 an hour to work as an entry-level prison guard at a private prison in Winnfield, Louisiana. There was no meaningful background check, and he used his real name despite his notoriety as an award-winning investigative journalist. Four months later he had seen enough, and in short order he left to write an exposé that won a National Magazine Award and became the most-read feature in the history of the magazine Mother Jones. Bauer joined us with excerpts from his book American Prisons: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment to weave a much deeper reckoning with his experiences. He shared his insider account of the private prison system, revealing how these establishments are not incentivized to tend to the health or safety of their inmates. Join Bauer for his blistering indictment of the private prison system and the powerful forces that drive it, and learn the sobering truth about the true face of justice in America. Shane Bauer is a senior reporter for Mother Jones. He is the recipient of the National Magazine Award for Best Reporting, Harvard’s Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting, Atlantic Media’s Michael Kelly Award, the Hillman Prize for Magazine Journalism, and at least 20 others. Bauer is the co-author, along with Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal, of a memoir, A Sliver of Light, which details his time spent as a prisoner in Iran. Recorded live at Seattle First Baptist Church by Town Hall Seattle on Tuesday, September 25, 2018. 

This week, a further look at the mechanisms of incarceration. 2018 Pulitzer Prize winning professor, legal scholar, and author James Forman, Jr. discusses Locking Up Our Own and prisoners rights advocate Sarah Shourd recalls and contextualizes her own and others' experiences in solitary confinement.

In this conversation with Sarah Shourd, a noted activist, journalist, and playwright, we discuss how self-care can be indulgent and privileged, but how it can also be an opportunity to bolster community health that makes us all freer.

Listen NowOn any given day US prisons and jails hold between 80,000 and 120,000 men, women and children in solitary confinement.   A significant percent of these individuals enter solitary with a mental disease and a similar percent of those held in isolation for extended periods of time develop severe psychiatric illnesses that include self amputation and suicidality.  (US prisons and jails constitute the largest psychiatric hospitals in the country.)  The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Juan E. Mendez, has concluded solitary confinement for more than 15 days constitutes torture.  In Hell is a Very Small Place, Voices from Solitary Confinement," edited by Jean Casella, James Ridgeway and Sarah Shourd, 16 former and current solitary confinement inmates discuss their experience in solitary and  two physicians and three professors (in law, political science and philosophy) discuss its physical and psychological effects and legal justification. During this 32 minute conversation, Ms Casella provides an overview of Hell Is a Very Small Place.  She explains why inmates are placed in solitary confinement, for how long and describes conditions under confinement.  She provides an overview of the psychological effects of solitary noted by contributing authors Dr. Stuart Grassian and Dr. Terry Kupers.  She addresses whether solitary confinement constitutes torture, explains how inmates attempt to keep their sanity, explains to what extent private sector profit making contributes to the practice and discusses what continued progress, if any, may be made under a new, incoming administration. Ms. Jean Casella is co-director of Solitary Watch, a web-based watchdog project that investigates, documents, and disseminated information about solitary confinement in US prisons and jails.  Prior to co-founding Solitary Watch in 2009, Ms. Casella managed several mission-driven book and magazine publishers including Thunder's Mouth Press and the Feminist Press.  Jean's writing has appeared in The Nation, Mother Jones, The Guardian, Al Jazerra, and other publications and media outlets.  The Hell is a Very Small Place anthology edited was published by The New Press in February.  For her work on solitary confinement, Jean was awarded a Soros Media Fellowship in 2012. For more information concerning Hell Is a Very Small Place go to: http://thenewpress.com/books/hell-very-small-place.The UN Special Rapporteur's report is at: http://solitaryconfinement.org/uploads/SpecRapTortureAug2011.pdf. For another physician's review of solitary confinement, see, for example, Dr. Atul Gawande's essay titled,"Hellhole," in the March 30, 2009 issue of The New Yorker.  At: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/03/30/hellhole.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thehealthcarepolicypodcast.com

In December 2014, Mother Jones senior reporter Shane Bauer took a job as a corrections officer at a Louisiana prison run by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the country’s second largest private-prison company. During his four months on the job, Bauer would witness stabbings, an escape, lockdowns and interventions by the state Department of Corrections as the company struggled to maintain control over 1,500 inmates. He was paid $9 an hour and was placed in a unit where he and another officer supervised hundreds of inmates. His in-depth narrative and series of videos provide a gripping look inside a prison where both staff and inmates were pushed to the edge. Read the story... While at Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana, the journalist had an up-close look at the impact of the private prison model on health care. Bauer met inmates struggling to get medical attention, including one who lost his legs and fingers to gangrene after months of neglect. Mental health assistance was minimal. The entire prison had just one part-time psychologist and one part-time psychiatrist. Suicidal inmates were placed in solitary confinement, where they were given meals that fall below USDA caloric standards. Bauer writes about one man who protested the lack of mental health services for years. After being waitlisted for mental health services for two years, he committed suicide. He weighed 71 pounds at the time of his death. Shane Bauer is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Hillman Prize for Magazine Journalism. He is also the co-author, with Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal, of A Sliver of Light, a memoir of his two years as a prisoner in Iran. To stay up-to-date on Shane Bauer’s work, follow him on Twitter @shane_bauer or go to his website, www.shanebauer.net.

Our first guests look at soiltary confinement through the lens of Sarah Shourd's play The Box, at Z-Space through July 30. Sarah is joined by Jerry Elster, consultant: Jerry Elster is the Healing Justice Coordinator for American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). He is also a formerly incarcerated person. He has a in forensic psychology. He is pursuing a doctorate in forensic psychology. He has worked in the field of Mentoring, Substance Abuse Counseling, Restorative Justice, and Advocacy. He serves on the advisory board for Oakland & the World, a venture to aid formerly incarcerated people and those facing employment challenges to gain cooperative economic advancement by becoming owners of their own businesses. He is a member of All of Us or None, a movement-led organization that advocates for the rights of prisoners and their families. Jerry's trials have taught him how essential it is for people to speak and be heard in their own voices. He believes that, people without a voice are a people without hope. His goal is for human and civil rights for everyone regardless of origin or prior arrest history: http://www.afsc.org/content/jerry-elster Sarah Shourd is an author, prisoner rights advocate, Contributing Editor at Solitary Watch, and a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley—currently based in Oakland, California. Sarah was held as a political hostage by the Iranian government from 2009-2010. Sarah was held incommunicado in solitary confinement for 410 days before being released, without a trial or any evidence shown against her, by President Ahmadinejad on “compassionate grounds,” a move designed to ease international pressure against the Iranian government: We close with a conversation with Chaz Shermil & Kimba Daniels, cast in Katori Hall's Hurt Village, up through Sunday at Ubuntu Theatre Project in Oakland. 

Clandestine Occupations (PM Press) A radical activist, Luba Gold, makes the difficult decision to go underground to support the Puerto Rican independence movement. When Luba’s collective is targeted by an FBI sting, she escapes with her baby but leaves behind a sensitive envelope that is being safeguarded by a friend. When the FBI come looking for Luba, the friend must decide whether to cooperate in the search for the woman she loves. Ten years later, when Luba emerges from clandestinity, she discovers that the FBI sting was orchestrated by another activist friend who had become an FBI informant. In the changed era of the 1990s, Luba must decide whether to forgive the woman who betrayed her. Told from the points of view of five different women who cross paths with Luba over four decades, Clandestine Occupationsexplores the difficult decisions that activists confront about the boundaries of legality and speculates about the scope of clandestine action in the future. It is a thought-provoking reflection on the risks and sacrifices of political activism as well as the damaging reverberations of disaffection and cynicism. Praise for Clandestine Occupations: “Clandestine Occupations is a triumph of passion and force. A number of memoirs and other nonfiction works by revolutionaries from the 1970s and ‘80s, including one by Block herself, have given us partial pictures of what a committed life, sometimes lived underground, was like. But there are times when only fiction can really take us there. A marvelous novel that moves beyond all preconceived categories.” —Margaret Randall, author of Che on My Mind “Diana Block creates a vivid and engaging tapestry of how political passion interweaves with the intricacies of personal relationships. Clandestine Occupations takes us into the thoughts and feelings of six different women as each, in her own way, grapples with choices about how to live and act in a world rife with oppression but also brightened by rays of humanity and hope.”—David Gilbert, political prisoner, author of Love and Struggle “Through this fascinating novel, Diana Block brings to life stories about radical history that will educate and engage today’s activists. Her portrayal of a woman in solitary confinement rings true to experience, offering a raw view of the struggle for resilience under daunting circumstances. Through flights of imagination, the novel gives us hope for political transformations in the future.” —Sarah Shourd, author of A Sliver of Light: Three Americans Imprisoned in Iran “Diana Block once again challenges our understanding of the ethical essence of revolution. Beyond political theory and practice, the moral dilemmas and turmoils are constant and consistent. Where does your loyalty lie, how does your dedication confront obstacles? These are the questions found in these pages as Diana searches for a just balance in human relationships and politics. Clandestine Occupations captures and occupies the heart and spirit, teaching us what it means to be genuine and sincere in revolutionary life and love.”—Jalil Muntaqim, political prisoner, author We Are Our Own Liberators: Selected Prison Writings Diana Block was a founding member of San Francisco Women Against Rape and the Prairie Fire Organizing Committee. She spent thirteen years living underground with a political collective committed to supporting the Puerto Rican independence and Black liberation movements. Since returning voluntarily from clandestinity in 1994, Diana has committed herself to anti-prison work, becoming a founding member of the California Coalition for Women Prisoners and the Jericho Movement. Previous writings include her memoir Arm the Spirit and she is a member of the editorial collective of The Fire Inside newsletter, which has been giving voice to women and transgender prisoners since 1996. She lives in San Francisco with her life partner, former political prisoner Claude Marks.

In the summer of 2009, Shane Bauer, Joshua Fattal, and Sarah Shourd were hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan when they unknowingly crossed into Iran and were captured by a border patrol. Accused of espionage, the three Americans ultimately found themselves in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison, where they discovered that pooling their strength of will and relying on each other were the only ways they could survive. In their poignant memoir, A Sliver of Light: Three Americans Imprisoned in Iran (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014) “the hikers” finally tell their side of the story. They recount the deception that lured them into Iran in the first place and describe the psychological torment of interrogation and solitary confinement. We follow them as they make surprising alliances with their fellow prisoners and even some of their captors, while their own bonds with each other are tested and deepened. The story is also an indictment of US foreign policy and its inability to produce a diplomatic solution to secure the hikers’ release. Told through a bold and innovative interweaving of the authors’ three voices, here is a rare glimpse into prison life, Iran-US relations and a timeless portrayal of hardship and hope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 2009, Shane Bauer, Joshua Fattal, and Sarah Shourd were hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan when they unknowingly crossed into Iran and were captured by a border patrol. Accused of espionage, the three Americans ultimately found themselves in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison, where they discovered that pooling their strength of will and relying on each other were the only ways they could survive. In their poignant memoir, A Sliver of Light: Three Americans Imprisoned in Iran (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014) “the hikers” finally tell their side of the story. They recount the deception that lured them into Iran in the first place and describe the psychological torment of interrogation and solitary confinement. We follow them as they make surprising alliances with their fellow prisoners and even some of their captors, while their own bonds with each other are tested and deepened. The story is also an indictment of US foreign policy and its inability to produce a diplomatic solution to secure the hikers’ release. Told through a bold and innovative interweaving of the authors’ three voices, here is a rare glimpse into prison life, Iran-US relations and a timeless portrayal of hardship and hope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maayan and Lauren discuss the new book 'A Sliver of Light' with the authors, Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal-- three Americans who were wrongfully imprisoned in Iran for over two years.  We chat with them about how they stumbled into that perilous situation, what tested their strength the most, and why they were [...] The post Prison’s Cruel Gift: A chat with American Prisoners in Iran – Pillowtok #33 appeared first on Glimpse Of Brilliance.

Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd unknowingly walked across the Iranian border, were accused of espionage and thrown into solitary confinement. Their compelling memoir is "A Sliver of Light" and they speak tonight at Town Hall Seattle. Shane, Josh and Sarah describe their ordeal, dispell myths about solitary confinement in America and offer advice for international travelers.

NOTE: It has now been over 1 year since the three hikers were imprisoned. Today is 9/11/10, when Iran was to have released Sarah due to her medical needs. The latest news is that this will not happen, as her ''legal'' case has not been resolved. It's fair to say that whatever comes out of Iran may or may not be reliable or truthful, but one thing is true: Sarah, Josh & Shane are still in prison.The following is description from when it was ten and a half months ago.Ten and a half months ago, Iran imprisoned three Americans for allegedly crossing from Kurdistan Iraq into Iran illegally. Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer & Josh Fattal are students of the world, voices of global consciousness, travelers, writers & activists. You can help get Sarah, Shane & Josh out of prison by listening to this interview & passing it on to your social networks.