WHEN THE SPARRGWHAWK FELL

Hamide was the second child of a military man and was raised in a modern and wealthy family. A military man raises his children to be principled and hardworking. Hamide was no different; she stood on her own feet from the beginning. She was not a girl who stays at home and has everything brought to her. Against the common beliefs of the society in those days, she soon found a job and started to teach at high school. The day she married Mansoor, her financial status was much better than his. Mansoor was a penniless students at the Officers’ Academy. It took them a few years to be able to move to their own home.Mansoor was a religious person, but not a short-minded one. He would do the chores and would make something out of wood or iron for the house whenever he found an opportunity. He even sewed a dress for Hamide which she still believes that is “the most beautiful dress in the world.” Mansoor worked in the Air Force, and although he liked flying, he was not a pilot. He was the officer in charge of radar and control tower. He deemed it right to be in the battlefield when Saddam attacked Iran. In spite of his deep affection for his family, Mansoor had to stay in the battlefield for a long time. Mansoor was more worried about the youth who were under Saddam's heavy fire. He was selected as the Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF); however, Mansoor and Hamide did not like to live like a commander. They preferred their own simple life. "When the Sparrowhawk Fell" is the memoir of Hamide Piahor during her 25 years of living with Mansoor Sattari, the Commander of IRIAF who died in 1995 in an air crash. The book depicts a couple who love peace, but they need to fight for it.