Review: Daughter of the Ganges by Asha Miro

Genre: Memoir
Series: No
Pages: 274
Copyright: 2007
Publisher: Atria Books
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Growing up in an Indian orphanage, Asha Miró dreamed that someday she would be adopted. At the age of six, her wish finally came true, but only at the misfortune of another. A Catalan family was in the process of adopting twins when one of the children suddenly fell ill and died -- a twist of fate that led the family to adopt Asha instead. Leaving a life of poverty behind, Asha was given a second chance.

Twenty-one years later, Asha takes a heart-wrenching trip back to India to uncover her native roots. Full of unexpected encounters, this adventure informs and touches Asha beyond her expectations. She visits her old orphanage, speaks with her former caretakers, explores the land that she might not have ever left, and comes to form a more solid identity. Yet one trip is not enough. Eight years later she returns, this time visiting the small rural village where she was born. While uncovering the details behind her adoption, Asha discovers the only living member of her immediate Indian family: a sister she never knew she had.

Feelings: 
This felt a lot like a journal to me. When I got to the end, I found out that it was take from a journal. The writing was very easy to read and didn't have the complexity of story that many memoirs have. I would have enjoyed this more if it had been written with more imagery. I felt like I was told everything and I didn't see the scenery of the story except on rare occasions. There were parts that were very detailed but for the most part it was simply written and didn't do a good job giving a feel for the places the author wrote about.

This book contains two shorter essays put together. The second added closure to the story that the first didn't have. It also showed how easy it is to get the story wrong when there are not good records. 

Margaret says that my father, Radhu Ghoderao, loved me a lot, so much so that he came to Mumbai to see me before I was adopted by my parents in Barcelona, but I did not recognize him. "Who is this man?" Mother Adelina asked me. "The Postman!" I apparently answered. p. 150

Asha does not find out about this on her first visit when she ask Mother Adelina about her past.

I find it difficult to understand how Mother Adelina managed to conceal such an incredible anecdote. I can't deny the anger that I feel. A father--my father--who traveled all the way to the city to see his daughter for the last time before she set off for a distant country to be adopted by a family, is an image from my story that is completely unknown to me and has a huge impact. p.151

She struggles with the fact that she wasn't given all the facts and that others kept what they knew from her. I'm glad that in the end she is able to meet her sister and they are able to talk about the past and it answers many of Asha's questions. However, the story didn't have the emotion that I was looking for.

This was written for families adopting a child from a foreign country or children who were adopted into a different country and are wanting to know what it was like for someone else. I recommend this to those readers. However, if you are looking for a good memoir this would not be one I would recommend.

 

Trail of Crumbs by Kim Sunée

Title: Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search of Home a Memoir 
Author: Kim Sunée 
Type: Audiobook  
Narrator: Justine Eyre  
Genre: Non-Fiction Memoir 
Series: No   
Copyright: 2008
Publisher: Books on Tape 
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: from goodreads
Already hailed as "brave, emotional, and gorgeously written" by Frances Mayes and "like a piece of dark chocolate--bittersweet, satisfying, and finished all too soon" by Laura Fraser, author of An Italian Affair, this is a unique memoir about the search for identity through love, hunger, and food.

Jim Harrison says, "TRAIL OF CRUMBS reminds me of what heavily costumed and concealed waifs we all are. Kim Sunée tells us so much about the French that I never learned in 25 trips to Paris, but mostly about the terrors and pleasure of that infinite octopus, love. A fine book."

When Kim Sunée was three years old, her mother took her to a marketplace, deposited her on a bench with a fistful of food, and promised she'd be right back. Three days later a policeman took the little girl, clutching what was now only a fistful of crumbs, to a police station and told her that she'd been abandoned by her mother.

Fast-forward almost 20 years and Kim's life is unrecognizable. Adopted by a young New Orleans couple, she spends her youth as one of only two Asian children in her entire community. At the age of 21, she becomes involved with a famous French businessman and suddenly finds herself living in France, mistress over his houses in Provence and Paris, and stepmother to his eight year-old daughter.

Kim takes readers on a lyrical journey from Korea to New Orleans to Paris and Provence, along the way serving forth her favorite recipes. A love story at heart, this memoir is about the search for identity and a book that will appeal to anyone who is passionate about love, food, travel, and the ultimate search for self. 


Feelings:
I listened to the audiobook of this. At first I wondered if maybe it would have been better as a print book. At the end of chapters there would be recipes included. They sounded good but listening to it didn't really give me an idea of what the recipes really were like. I, however, originally got the audiobook because I was interested in the story. It took a little while for the story to really take off for me.

By the thrid disc of 11 I was really enjoying the story and was much less interested in the recipes that went with the story. By the time the audiobook finished 12 hours and 42 minutes of driving after I started I was wondering if Kim Sunée would write a follow up memoir, so far she hasn't. 

I really liked the audiobook and the story. I think we have all wondered about the past of our childhood that we don't fully remember but not to the extent that Kim does. She is haunted by what she doesn't remember and as the learns to trust others again on her search for a place to call home she looks at many topics that I think will be familiar even if our histories are different. 

I highly recommend this book. 

The Kindness Diaries by Leon Logothetis

Title: The Kindness Diaries: One Man's Quest to Ignite Goodwill and Transform Lives Around The World
Author: Leon Legothetis
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: Travel Memoir
Series: No
Pages: 288
Copyright: 2014
Publisher: Readers Digest
Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary: from Goodreads
The incredible journey of one man who sets out to circumnavigate the globe on a vintage motorbike fueled by kindness.

Follow the inspirational journey of a former stockbroker who leaves his unfulfilling desk job in search of a meaningful life. He sets out from Los Angeles on a vintage motorbike, determined to circumnavigate the globe surviving only on the kindness of strangers. Incredibly, he makes his way across the U.S., through Europe, India, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and finally to Canada and back to the Hollywood sign, by asking strangers for shelter, food, and gas. Again and again, he’s won over by the generosity of humanity, from the homeless man who shares his blanket to the poor farmer who helps him with his broken down bike, and the HIV-positive mother who takes him in and feeds him. At each stop, he finds a way to give back to these unsuspecting Good Samaritans in life-changing ways, by rebuilding their homes, paying for their schooling, and leaving behind gifts big and small. The Kindness Diaries will introduce you to a world of adventure, renew your faith in the bonds that connect people, and inspire you to accept and generate kindness in your own life.

Feelings:
This book wasn't exactly what I expected. I thought it looked interesting from the summary I read. However, I found out he took a camera crew with him to document his trip. I think the idea of traveling on the kindness of others is a very interesting one. Taking a camera crew with him felt a little like he was cheating. I know he said he only brought the crew in at certain times but I still felt like their very existence would have influenced those he meet on his trip and changed the way he acted. I'm not say that what he didn't wasn't admirable and the gifts he gave back didn't make a huge difference but I wonder how different his experience would have been if he hadn't had the camera crew with him.

There are many lessons that can be learned from this book although I think maybe one of the most important ones is that adventure doesn't mean leaving home. And helping others doesn't mean going to the third world.

I enjoyed reading the book. I was again reminded of a book I have wanted to read. Shantarama by Gregory David Roberts. I first saw the book when I was on a flight to Thailand and the guy next to me was reading it. I admit I read a little over his shoulder and found it intriguing. The book was quoted in here and it peaks my interest again. The quote, "It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and choices we make . . . freedom is a universe of possibility", fit well with the story. It is also very close to what Leon learns. 

I recommend the book. However, I do feel like it didn't give the entire picture of his trip because it left out the camera crew. I know he felt like it was best to leave the out in the telling but they were there and it is strange to have them be entirely absent from the story when they played a part in it. 

12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

Title: 12 Years a Slave
Author: Solomon Northup
Type: Audiobook
Narrator: Louis Gossett Jr.
Genre: Memoir
Series: No
Copyright: 2013(original copyright 1853)
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Rating: 4 out of 5


Summary: from good reads
In this riveting true story, Academy Award winner Louis Gossett, Jr., masterfully transports us to 1840s New York, Louisiana,and Washington, DC, to experience the kidnapping and twelve-year bondage of Solomon Northup, a free man of color. Published in 1853, this account was a bombshell in the national debate over slavery leading up to the Civil War and helped tilt public opinion in favor of abolition. Solomon captures the reality of slavery in stunning detail as we learn about the characters that populate plantation society and the intrigues of the bayou. Eventually a friend attempts a courageous rescue that could either result in Solomon's death or get him back to the arms of his family.

Feelings:
I thought this would be a harder book to listen to than it was. A free man sold into slavery would surly have a story that would be heart wrenching. However, the way this was told did not dwell on the pain and suffering but tried to deliver facts.

I did find the delivery of the story of Solomon to be a bit dry at times. We went from fact to fact and didn't get bogged down in the emotions. When emotions were involved we didn't get caught up in them but seemed to observe from a distance of time. I think that having written the story in this way was good as it did give some distance from the horror that was slavery. However, it did make the story a little bit difficult to get into.

I have not seen the movie that was made from the book. The visuals of film would add to the story and emphasis the emotion and pain more than the book did in my opinion. I recommend the audiobook the narrator did an excellent job making what was at times a dry narrative interesting.

The World's Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne

Title: The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family
Author: Josh Hanagarne
Type:  Audiobook
Narrator: Stephen R. Thorne
Genre: Memoir
Series: No
Copyright: 2014
Publisher: AudioGo
Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Summary: from good reads

An inspiring story of how a Mormon kid with Tourette's found salvation in books and weight-lifting.

Josh Hanagarne couldn't be invisible if he tried. Although he wouldn't officially be diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome until his freshman year of high school, Josh was six years old and onstage in a school Thanksgiving play when he first began exhibiting symptoms. By the time he was twenty, the young Mormon had reached his towering adult height of 6'7" when — while serving on a mission for the Church of Latter Day Saints — his Tourette's tics escalated to nightmarish levels.

Determined to conquer his affliction, Josh underwent everything from quack remedies to lethargy-inducing drug regimes to Botox injections that paralyzed his vocal cords and left him voiceless for three years. Undeterred, Josh persevered to marry and earn a degree in Library Science. At last, an eccentric, autistic strongman — and former Air Force Tech Sergeant and guard at an Iraqi prison — taught Josh how to "throttle" his tics into submission through strength-training.

Today, Josh is a librarian in the main branch of Salt Lake City's public library and founder of a popular blog about books and weight lifting—and the proud father of four-year-old Max, who has already started to show his own symptoms of Tourette's.

The World's Strongest Librarian illuminates the mysteries of this little-understood disorder, as well as the very different worlds of strongman training and modern libraries. With humor and candor, this unlikely hero traces his journey to overcome his disability — and navigate his wavering Mormon faith — to find love and create a life worth living.

Feelings:
I loved this audiobook. Josh Hanagarne is a librarian and he has tourette's. This is an unlikely combination but as we get to know josh as he moves through childhood into adolescence and finally adulthood we realize there isn't anything else he could be.

I liked that each chapter started with facts about the library. It was a nice way of showing that our narrator might be a weight lifting librarian but the people in the library are just as strange. I had seen this book mentioned a couple of times recently and was very excited to listen to it. I was not disappointed.

I highly recommend this book.

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

Title: A Long Way Gone

Author: Ishmael Beah

Type: Audiobook
Narrator: Ishmael Beah
Genre: Memoir

Series: No


Copyright: 2007
Publisher: Books on Tape

Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Summary: from Good Reads

In the more than fifty violent conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them.
What does war look like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But it is rare to find a first-person account from someone who endured this hell and survived.
In A LONG WAY GONE: MEMOIRS OF A BOY SOLDIER, Ishmael Beah, now twenty-six years old, tells a powerfully gripping story: At the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. At sixteen, he was removed from fighting by UNICEF, and through the help of the staff at his rehabilitation center, he learned how to forgive himself, to regain his humanity, and, finally, to heal. This is an extraordinary and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.

Feelings: 
This was a hard book to listen to as a young boy becomes a soldier and part of a war in his country. I knew of what happened in Sierra Leone but it was far away and I wasn't really sure of what happened. This book tells in detail what it was like to be a soldier in the army as a child. 

While it was difficult to listening to this audiobook I am glad that I did. Living in the stable west I can remain detached from events like these but stories bring them to the from and make us look. When we see it is hard not to want to help make things better. I don't think we have the solution but working together as during the UNICEF gathering solutions can be generated.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Sierra Leone's recent past. It does take a bit of will to read as a lot of what happens is terrible. This is a memoir that takes place during a civil war.

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb

Title: I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up For Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

Author: Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb

Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: Memoir

Series: No

Pages: 327
Copyright: 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Summary: From Good Reads
I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.

I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.

Feelings:
I really enjoyed reading this book. Malala's story is one that resonates for anyone who feels like education is a human right for all people. While she is no longer able to live in her home country, Pakistan, because of threats on her life she still longs to go back there.

What I really liked most about the book is that it discussed may events that took place in Pakistan that were discussed in my classes. Seeing a different view on these issues was interesting for me. Also, living in a country where an even happens is very different than reading about it in the news.

Swat Valley sounds like a very green and lush place, not what I thought of when I thought of the region, and while it is not a place I would visit under current conditions, the descriptions make it seem like a nice place to take a vacation if you didn't mind a bit of a scenic drive to get there.

Reading about individuals that overcome great obstacle is satisfying for me. This book was both about a young girl that has obstacles placed in her way by society and the political citation in the country. Both of which really appealed to me.

I would highly recommend this book.

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali with Delphine Minoui

Title: I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced
Author: Nujood Ali with Delphine Minoui
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: Memoir
Series: No
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads

“I’m a simple village girl who has always obeyed the orders of my father and brothers. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today I have decided to say no.”

Forced by her father to marry a man three times her age, young Nujood Ali was sent away from her parents and beloved sisters and made to live with her husband and his family in an isolated village in rural Yemen. There she suffered daily from physical and emotional abuse by her mother-in-law and nightly at the rough hands of her spouse. Flouting his oath to wait to have sexual relations with Nujood until she was no longer a child, he took her virginity on their wedding night. She was only ten years old.

Unable to endure the pain and distress any longer, Nujood fled—not for home, but to the courthouse of the capital, paying for a taxi ride with a few precious coins of bread money. When a renowned Yemeni lawyer heard about the young victim, she took on Nujood’s case and fought the archaic system in a country where almost half the girls are married while still under the legal age. Since their unprecedented victory in April 2008, Nujood’s courageous defiance of both Yemeni customs and her own family has attracted a storm of international attention. Her story even incited change in Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries, where underage marriage laws are being increasingly enforced and other child brides have been granted divorces.

Recently honored alongside Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice as one of Glamour magazine’s women of the year, Nujood now tells her full story for the first time. As she guides us from the magical, fragrant streets of the Old City of Sana’a to the cement-block slums and rural villages of this ancient land, her unflinching look at an injustice suffered by all too many girls around the world is at once shocking, inspiring, and utterly unforgettable.

Feelings:
This is the story of a young girl who is brave beyond her years. In Yemen this is not an uncommon fate for young girls from poor families. To be married is an honor and even at a young age one must listen to their family.

One February evening in 2008, when I'd just gotten home, Aba told me he had some good news. "Nujood, you are about to be married." (p. 40)

This is just the start of the suffering that Nujood undergoes at an age where many girls are still in school or enjoying childhood pleasures.

"And why do you want a divorce?" he continues in a more natural tone, as if trying to hide his astonishment. I look him straight in the eye. "Because my husband beats me." ... Point-blank, he asks me an important question: "Are you still a virgin?" ... I'm ashamed of talking about these things. ... But in that same instant I understand that if I want to win, I must take the plunge. "No. I bled." (p. 42)

This is a book full of uncomfortable moments such as this were we wonder if there is something that could be done to have prevented this from happening. Something that could have stopped this child from learning the suffering of life, and loosing her childhood long before she should have. To say that Nujood is brave is an understatement, she had to go against family, tradition, and culture something that would be hard for even a woman of more years and experience.

While the book is simply written the emotions come through strong. For those who are interested in women's rights in third world countries this is a must read. We may feel that we are helpless to do anything for girls half way around the world who are suffering but just being aware of what happens in other countries can change the way we think and the actions we take. And little actions can sometimes make big changes.

Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama

Title: Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Author: Barack Obama
Type: Audio Book (abridged)
Narrator: Barack Obama
Genre: Non-Fiction/Memoir

Series: No
Copyright: 2005
Publisher: Random House Audio
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads

Before Barack Obama became a politician he was, among other things, a writer. Dreams from My Father is his masterpiece: a refreshing, revealing portrait of a young man asking the big questions about identity and belonging.

The son of a black African father and a white American mother, Obama recounts an emotional odyssey. He retraces the migration of his mother's family from Kansas to Hawaii, then to his childhood home in Indonesia. Finally he travels to Kenya, where he confronts the bitter truth of his father's life and at last reconciles his divided inheritance.

Includes the 2004 Democratic National Convention speech given by Obama.

Feelings:
This is the story of Barack Obama before he becomes a politician. While the story is about an absent father and who this effects a young Barack. Race is another question that arises from having an African father and a white mother. Where does one fit in society and how can one proceed to have a black identity when living with whites?

Spending some of his childhood in Indonesia with his mother and step-father taught him about history of a people and how it effects who we are and what we become.

History of race and country is still with us and through this book we see one man's struggle and triumph as he learns to understand his past, his family ties, an unknown culture, and the importance of being true to oneself no matter what that might be.

I wish that this hadn't been abridged but there was not an unabridged version of this book. I think that even those who do not like Obama politically will find this an interesting to listen to. This book isn't about politics it is about family and the struggle of understanding what that means.

Review: Tears of the Desert by Halima Bashir with Damien Lewis

Genre: Memoir
Series: No
Pages: 316
Copyright: 2008
Publisher: One World Books, Random House
Buy: Amazon

Summary:
Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur is a brave book of self exposure. Many would have been scared to share what Halima Bashir has shared in her memoir. The book follows Halima from her childhood in a Zaghawa tribe village in Darfur. Halima is a good student and she is sent off to school by her father who believes because she has one white eye lash she has good fortune and will do great things. Away from her village and in the town of Hashma, Halima studied working her way to the top to the school even though she was not Arabic and they were often favored by the teachers. The conflict between Arabs and African's starts about the time she is finishing school. Her father wanted her to become a doctor and after finishing and passing the exams she applies for college. She is accepted to medical school and travels to the capital city of Khartoum where she will study. She is now very far from her family and the conflict in the south is increasing but it has not affected her home. On the university campus she observes a lack of racial tension that she had felt other places but as the conflict spreads this dissipates. She finishes her studies and returns to her village to wait for placement within a hospital. She worries that the janaweed who have raided and killed near by villages will come to hers but the fighting is still somewhat removed from her village. Halima is placed in Hashma and this is when her troubles start that lead to her fleeing the country.

Feelings:
This is a powerful book that should have helped many who were unsure of the damage of the conflict in Sudan to see the destruction of the lives of the people there. This book will make you smile, cry, and yearn to help those within its pages. Dr. Halima Bashir has escaped to a safer life in England but many in her country have not. Something that shocked me was that she does not know where her family is? Her mother and sister who ran to try and safe her from the government and her two brothers who joined the resistance. It is hard for me to imagine not knowing where my family was. I tried to do a few searches to see if maybe in the four years since it had been published she had been able to locate her family, I was unable to find any indication that she had. I found that I didn't want to stop reading the story even though it was heart breaking at times. It is detailed but not so much so that we are overwhelmed by the grotesque events that take place. There is a genuine dislike for the janaweed  as well as the government police and military who abuse the Africans just because of the color of their skin.

After having finished reading Tearsof the Desert, I wondered what had happened in the country since then. There hasn't been as much media coverage recently. The president of Sudan Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir has been convicted of war crimes and genocide by the International Criminal Court, he is the only sitting leader of a country to be convicted on such acts by the court.  There is an issue for his arrest but so far Sudan has refused to act upon it.

With the independence of South Sudan in 2011 from Sudan the conflict has changed. The Sundanese government is denying having bombed villages in South Sudan and South Sudan is considering stopping talks with the north over oil (for more on the conflict this is a good source Sudan: Murder by Proxy. Much is not being covered by the media, this site lists events by day).

Today in Darfur region the conflict is not the Arab janaweed fighting the African tribes, specifically the Fur and Zaghawa ethnic groups. This new strategy uses the Tunjur, Bergid, and Berti tribes to fight the Fur and Zaghawa, making it an African fighting African conflict. The militia is still supported heavily by the government of Sudan (Sudan: Murder by Proxy). The government in "Khartoum has done all it can to ensure that there is no news reporting from Darfur that it does not control, that there are no human rights reporters, and that every humanitarian nongovernmental organization understands full well that any reporting-even on basic humanitarian conditions-will result in its expulsion and perhaps that of others" (allAfrica South Sudan: Darfur Moves Yet Deeper Into the Shadow of Lies). Many international organizations and media sources clam that the Darfur crisis is winding down and is no longer an international issue. This is not the case and the fact that the Sudanese government is doing all it can to keep the media out, as well as the newly appointed expert for the UN human rights on a visit in June 2012 is evidence that the conflict is far from over (allAfrica South Sudan: Darfur Moves Yet Deeper Into the Shadow of Lies). What has happens is that there is less media coverage of Darfur, where are our brave journalists that report in conflict areas so that the international community sees what is happening? I have to admit that I too would have naively thought that since I was no longer seeing reports in the media that the conflict was resolving, if I had not read this book. There is still much that the international community needs to address in Darfur before refugees will be able to return home in safety. One wonders if anything will happen to resolve this conflict.

Review: The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam

Genre: Memoir
Series: No
Pages: 197
Copyright: 2008
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Buy:Amazon

Summary:
The subheading "The true story of a Cambodian heroine" is a good way of describing what Somaly has done for young girls sold into sexual slavery in Cambodia and Southeast Asia. The blurb on the cover "As a girl she was sold into sexual slavery, but now she rescues others." is fitting. The story starts with her as a child in a small village where she has been left by her parents and her grandmother. From this village she is taken by a man who she calls grandfather, presumably just an older man who uses her as labor, and who later sells her to the brothel. Somaly now runs a center for girls who have been sold into brothels and escaped from them. Her story has brought the problem of sex trafficking to international attention. She runs Acting for Women in Distressing Situations (AFESIP) in Cambodia which helps former prostitutes gain life skills which they can use to support themselves. AFESIP also provides a safe place for the girls to regain their confidence before they enter society.

Feelings:
The Road of Lost Innocence is a book of bravery. Somaly had to have courage to reveal her life in a book which anyone can read. Her story is one which can speak to all people. To make her story as vibrant as it is she had to fully open herself and those around her to the pain that she went through and is still with her.

This is not an easy book to read as it is not about an easy topic. This is a book about human suffering that women and girls endure. Being forced to sell oneself for profit by family members because you are a girl and not worth anything to your family is hard to read about. One wonders how a mother would be able to let their child go so easily. Somaly is a strong woman who deserves the respect of all women for her ability to help so many girls out of a life which she lived through and is still haunted by.

The beginning of the book starts with a statistic, which I know many will find hard to comprehend or will not want to look at.

"By far the lowest statistic for the number of prostitutes and sex slaves in Cambodia is between 40,000 and 50,000. It can be expect that at least 1 in 40 girls born in Cambodia will be sold into sex slavery," from a 2005 report by Future Group. 

These are dismal numbers but the book is one woman's story of living through being a sex slave, and her life now as she tries to help others. This is a book which should be read in high schools and colleges to gain an outside perspective of the lives of individuals in third world countries.

I highly recommend this The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine by Somaly Mam. It might not be an easy subject to read about, but the book is not all dark.