My favorite aspect of this book was the author's unique writing style; the use of deadpan humor, which was beautifully wove into the story, further enhancing my enjoyment of this poignant memoir...I'm glad to award Writing and Madness in a Time of Terror 4 out of 4 stars. -Online Book Club

This is a gritty, at times disturbing, and ultimately survivalist account by a brilliant woman & compelling writer. Ms. Majidi stands at a three-point threshold: a woman from an Islamic country with a mood disorder. Anyone who has known predators, especially white collar predators, will understand what this can mean. In a twist of life's spreadsheet, it may be these three elements that prompt the development of the resilience to get her through all of it. -Google Books

Writing and Madness in a Time of Terror portrays how gaslighting works in emotionally abusive relationships and how victims shrink over time. It's a very realistic look at how survivors are often serial survivors, especially in a culture that praises sadistic men. The emotional amnesia survivors suffer is what makes this book resonate. To an undiscerning reader, it may seem repetitive (dating the same man, different body over again) yet the repetition begs the question, Can a victim ever prevent herself from walking into an abusive relationship if that's all she's known? -Fupping

Writing and Madness in a Time of Terror is a glimpse into the mind of a woman swallowed whole by a crumbling state of mind after sexual trauma. The reader scrambles alongside her for a sense of hope that the nightmare will end. Here you will find a strong narrative account of victimization, the broken homes created in the face of crisis, and the hostile experience of marginalized women even in academia and especially the publishing world. -Pretty Progressive

"Beautifully written, this is a classic that rivals Girl Interrupted." -Improve Her Health

"In 1979, upper middle-class Iranian women like Afarin Majidi wore French fashions and perfume, smoked in public and generally enjoyed the same social freedoms as western women. Iran was then a kingdom, ruled by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi - the Shah of Iran... (for more visit the blog)..." Stephen Trombley, Author (full review)

"Majidi's memoir doesn't end like a fairytale. Nobody swoops into her rescue. There are no trivializing and simplifying anecdotes regarding how everything gets better. It was refreshing to me that this book doesn't impose a "happily ever after" narrative, a cliché that alienates readers like me, who are still struggling. Ultimately, Majidi rescues herself. Sometimes we must become our own saviors. The very act of her survival was an act of defiance." -Entropy

"A woman forced to flee Iran with her family ... bravely explores three explosive issues--mental illness, racism, and misogyny--with bracing candor ... Majidi provides an engrossing and timely look at the way women of color are doubly objectified, as exotic sexual quarry and as individuals worthy of contempt." -Kirkus Reviews

The Prologue of Writing and Madness in a Time of Terror appeared in The Iranian

If you enter Majidi’s world when she’s in a manic episode, you can see there is some sense in her madness. It’s as if she is going through her days explicating one frightening poem after another instead of dealing with the trauma and abandonment she’s experienced. Sometimes it feels as if she’s deciphering mystical signs that others can’t see. And if you follow the unreasonable logic of her thinking, the whole situation does become a frightening metaphor for what’s happening in the world. -Reedsy