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Best Self Magazine

From Refugee to Revival: A Journey of Resilience & Abundance & 5 Principles to Live By

Path to Prosperity: A Refugee Shares her Journey of Resilience and 5 Principles to Live By by Laleh Alemzadeh-Hancock. Photograph of a woman holding a pink flower by Matthias Cooper
Photograph by Matthias Cooper

Despite a life of upheaval and constant change, one resilient and positive woman was able to transform herself into a vibrant leader

When I was 7 years old, my family’s future was changed forever when the Iranian revolution hit. 

My father, an executive director of a textile company, was a target of those who opposed the Shah and his ministry. In less than 24 hours and with just 3 suitcases, my mother, two sisters and I, boarded an airplane to France with no clue of what the future held. My father stayed behind to take care of his employees but had to go into hiding for his own safety. Unfortunately, it did not take long for the government to use his remaining family as a way to bring him in and send him to prison. When this happened, his whole life was seized — money, properties, and business — and the life we knew vanished.

Growing up, I was a naturally happy, yet quiet, child

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