The Lip Reader is based on the true story of Zhila Shirazi, a deaf Persian Jew. Set in Iran during the 1960s and 1970s, and later in Los Angeles, California, Zhila tells her story in the first person about a deaf woman refusing to allow adversity to stop her from reaching her dreams. This includes improved communication, a man to share her life, and a meaningful profession to support herself. In 1985, disgusted with the treatment of Jews by the new Islamic government, Zhila immigrates to the United States for a better life and a chance at receiving a cochlear implant for improved hearing. It isn’t until she is forty-nine years of age and meets her soulmate, Mickey Daniels, that she begins to feel her life complete. A decade later, after the two are deeply in love, Zhila learns she is suffering from an aggressive form of cancer. In the months that follow, Mickey becomes Zhila’s primary caretaker, growing even closer as they fight her disease together. Right up to the end, Zhila Shirazi shows her caring nature, innate intelligence, and will power to overcome almost any challenge.