Book: ‘A House in the Sky’ by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett.
I’ve already established that I see reading as an adventure in its own right. I especially love reading books about adventures that other people have experienced and how their lives were changed by extraordinary events, either by choice or by force, the latter of which is the case with Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout in her memoir, ‘A House in the Sky.’
The book chronicles Amanda’s 15 months spent in captivity as a hostage of a militant Islamic group in war-torn Somalia, along with the events and choices she made that led to her violent kidnapping at age 27. Her story is both terrifying and captivating at the same time. While I was horrified at the hideous conditions in which she was held, I also couldn’t put this book down for fear that if I didn’t reach the end and find out how she managed to be freed, she’d never escape the hell-on-earth she was trapped in. I’m not sure if it was because she was the same age during her captivity that I am now or maybe I saw a bit of myself in her adventurous spirit, but I felt so connected to this story that half way through, I was committed to finishing this book as soon as humanly possible. I’m serious – I tearfully turned the last page while on my lunch break sitting with my crew at a Tex Mex restaurant yesterday! (more…)