# Event Details - **Event Name**: Toronto launch of Maryam Rafiee's WAS IT WORTH IT? - **Event Start and End Date**: Wed, 26 Aug, 2026 at 07:00 pm – Wed, 26 Aug, 2026 at 08:30 pm - **Event Description**: Join us for the Toronto launch of Maryam Rafiee's WAS IT WORTH IT? on August 26th!About this EventWas It Worth It? A Journey of Leaving, Losing, and BecomingWhen intelligence agents storm Maryam Rafiee's Tehran home and assault her for refusing to surrender her laptop, she faces a question that will haunt her for years: Was fighting back worth it? Days later, fleeing to Canada with bruises still fresh on her arms, she carries this question—and many others—into exile.In this searing memoir, Rafiee chronicles her journey from a young woman defying Iran's gender apartheid to a tireless advocate for her father's freedom. Her interconnected stories span decades and continents: ration lines during the Iran-Iraq War, secret bicycle rides through Tehran, discrimination in a Toronto grocery store, 50,000 protesters chanting "Woman, Life, Freedom."This is the story of a daughter who fights to free her imprisoned father from across an ocean, a woman who discovers that even democratic countries have their own forms of discrimination, and an immigrant who must learn to carry home within herself when she can no longer return to it. Above all, it's a meditation on the complicated arithmetic of freedom—where the cost is everything, but the alternative is unthinkable.Maryam Rafiee is an Iranian Canadian lawyer, writer, and human rights advocate based in Toronto. Her work explores themes of displacement, political repression, memory, migration, and access to justice.Born in Iran, Maryam’s teenage years were shaped by the imprisonment of her father, scholar and political activist Hossein Rafiee. During his detention, she wrote letters to him that she could never send—letters about fear, hope, and the longing to be heard. Fifteen years later, following her father’s second imprisonment, those letters became the basis for her first book, Dear Baba: A Story Through Letters, a memoir reflecting on political imprisonment, family separation, and resilience under authoritarian rule.Before immigrating to Canada in 2014, Maryam worked in Iran as a cultural heritage specialist and published numerous articles on Iranian cultural heritage and preservation.Following her father’s second detention in 2015, Maryam became actively involved in international human rights advocacy. She led a campaign drawing attention to his arbitrary detention in Iran, collaborated with human rights organizations and international media, and filed a successful complaint before the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.These experiences inspired her to pursue a legal career dedicated to supporting marginalized and displaced communities. Alongside her legal practice, Maryam continues to write creative nonfiction and essays on exile, identity, intergenerational trauma, and belonging. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, The Room, The New Quarterly, and The Humber Literary Review, among others. She is also a public speaker on human rights advocacy and storytelling.Her book, Was It Worth It? A Journey of Leaving, Losing, and Becoming, is a collection of personal stories exploring migration, memory, and the complexities of living between borders and identities. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/toronto/toronto-launch-of-maryam-rafiees-was-it-worth-it/100001994053880836 - **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, health-wellness, fine-arts, meditation, storytelling - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 - **Event Highlights**: - Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes - Location: Another Story Bookshop - Languages: English ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: CAD ## Event venue details - **city**: Toronto - **state**: ON - **country**: Canada - **location**: Another Story Bookshop - **lat**: 43.6485482 - **long**: -79.4497583 - **full address**: Another Story Bookshop, 315 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto, Canada ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Toronto launch of Maryam Rafiee's WAS IT WORTH IT? - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events4/banners/e5451015d4e85cebd81a5273cae24628931f580ac7b87ddf1b9fbcafb020009d-rimg-w1200-h600-dcb6d7e0-gmir.jpg?v=1784927295 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Toronto launch of Maryam Rafiee's WAS IT WORTH IT? being held? - **A:** Toronto launch of Maryam Rafiee's WAS IT WORTH IT? takes place on Wed, 26 Aug, 2026 at 07:00 pm to Wed, 26 Aug, 2026 at 08:30 pm at Another Story Bookshop, 315 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto, Canada. - **Q**: Who is organizing Toronto launch of Maryam Rafiee's WAS IT WORTH IT?? - **A:** Toronto launch of Maryam Rafiee's WAS IT WORTH IT? is organized by Another Story Bookshop. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Toronto launch of Maryam Rafiee's WAS IT WORTH IT? is ideal for party-goers, social butterflies, and anyone looking for a great night out with music, drinks, and good vibes. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Toronto, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. 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