"How many of you have been in prison before?" Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist who was detained in Iran while writing a book, asked the audience Monday night in the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto.

"To me, prison was the biggest challenge of my life," she said. Saberi told her story of the six years she spent in Iran, four months of which were spent in the political prisoners' wing of Evin Prison after she was arrested when falsely accused of spying.

Saberi was born in New Jersey, but her father was from Iran and mother from Japan. She visited Japan a few times but had never been to Iran prior to the trip that led to her arrest.

"I had a lot opportunities in America," she said. "But I wanted to try opportunities in Iran. I thought, I don't really know my Iranian identity. I don't know much about the culture and the people, and I want to report from Iran."

Upon arriving in Iran, Saberi said she had a few perceptions about the people and culture there.

She said that very often, people imagine Iranians holding anti-American signs and burning American flags—a perception she once held, too. But after speaking with locals in Tehran, she learned that this was not the case.

"I learned I had to go beyond these initial perceptions," said Saberi. "I had to get to know the people better."

Iran is not just what we know from the past 30 years, she said. "Iran has a very diverse society."

She said it didn't take long for her to fall in love with the country and decide to write a book about the people she met there.

But one day, Saberi was arrested and sentenced to eight years in prison on the false account that she was a spy for the U.S. government.

"I was 31 years old, and all of a sudden my life was turned upside down," she said. "I was afraid. I gave in to that fear."

In prison, under harassment and threats, Saberi made a false confession in hopes of being released. But she later realized that her false confession only made her feel worse.

"I felt so ashamed for what I had done," she said. "Even though one day my body would be free, my conscience would always remain behind bars."

Saberi recanted her confession while still in prison and went on a two-week hunger strike to protest her unjust imprisonment.

When you face life-threatening changes, what do you do, Saberi asked during the lecture Monday. "One, try to make a decision based on your principles, [and] two, try to turn challenges into opportunities."

Saberi was released after 100 days and last year was safely returned to the United States.

"You know my story," she told the crowd. "You heard much about my story, probably. And why is that? I think it's largely because I'm an American. But others who remain in prison deserve to have their stories heard as well. They don't have American passports. But they're heroes."

Dana Patterson, a junior at Arroyo High School, said she was inspired by the talk.

"It'll make me more appreciative," Patterson said. "I think the biggest inspiration was about sticking true to your principles and morals, and you can still do what you think is right even after if you feel you have done something wrong."

Etta Richanbach, a San Mateo resident, was also in the audience. "It was an honor to be able to see and hear Roxana Saberi. I feel inspired," she said. "I'm going to look at myself and my challenges in a different [way]."

The biggest thing is to stand up, speak on behalf of those who can't speak for themselves and try to carry the message that she brought back with her, said Ric Jazaie of San Francisco.

"I have family members over there who were in prison," said Jazaie. "But I know firsthand that they don't have the same freedoms over there. We can help them a lot here by speaking for them and try to get the message out to the rest of the world. The world has to stand up and do something for these folks and help them out."