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The Girl Who Escaped ISIS
- This Is My Story
- Narrated by: Lara Sawalha
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Politics & Activism
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Publisher's Summary
A rare and riveting firsthand account of the terror and torture inflicted by ISIS on young Iraqi Yazidi women and an inspiring personal story of bravery and resilience in the face of unspeakable horrors.
In the early summer of 2014, Farida Khalaf was a typical Yazidi teenager living with her parents and three brothers in her village in the mountains of Northern Iraq. In one horrific day, she lost everything: ISIS invaded her village, destroyed her family, and sold her into sexual slavery. The Girl Who Escaped ISIS is her incredible account of captivity and describes how she defied the odds and escaped a life of torture in order to share her story with the world. Devastating and inspiring, this is an astonishing, intimate account of courage and hope in the face of appalling violence.
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- Kelly Miller
- 08-09-16
Wow....a must read!
Farida's captivity is frightening and brutal beyond words. Her inner strength is contagious and with that courage she saved other young women. She has effectively pulled back the curtain of radical Muslims and the light she put on them will not be forgotten. This is a must-read!
5 people found this helpful
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- 6catz
- 08-11-16
WOW
Shattering, eye-opening story of a young woman facing down the greatest evil of our age with grace, dignity and incredible courage.
Could NOT put this book down. Outstanding.
4 people found this helpful
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- stevie
- 08-11-17
Proud To Have Heard It
I'm glad that I got to listen to her version of her story. Part of the book made me so sad but part made me so proud that she was so strong. The other feeling that came to me was gratefulness. Our country has a lot of its own problems but the things this girl went through would never happen to me without somebody paying for it. I'm grateful blessed and lucky to have been born in America and I hope her captors suffer the wrath of whatever devil they believe to be true.
3 people found this helpful
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- Jazz
- 08-08-16
Heartbreaking
Everyone should read this to get an understanding of ISIS. Very well written an narrated to keep me listening. finished in two days.
3 people found this helpful
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- erica
- 05-08-18
This book changed my entire prespective
I have never felt for someone in a book as much as I have for Farida and her family. Her struggle is one that no women/girl should have to go through. I couldn't stop listening because her story drew me in and wouldn't let go. If you are ever second guessing yourself on the refugee situation regarding the individuals fleeing ISIS I recommend you listen/read this book, not only does it open your eyes it makes you want to do something about the struggle they have to go through. Wonderful/moving story.
2 people found this helpful
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- A. Kegley
- 07-26-16
Great read!!
this was a great book it was the first one that I have read like it. I usually just read true crime stories so this was a little different and I don't regret it one bit.
5 people found this helpful
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- Pamela Plimpton
- 03-16-17
Fantastic read with first hand accounts
If you could sum up The Girl Who Escaped ISIS in three words, what would they be?
Riveting eye opener
Which character – as performed by Lara Sawalha – was your favorite?
Farida and her friend Evan - brave girls!!
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Indeed it was! Got thru this book very quickly & didn't realize it was finished already!
Any additional comments?
Very well written, easy to follow & good story.
1 person found this helpful
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- Baruch Klassen
- 02-22-17
The Girl who defeated ISIS
Farida was a Yazidi girl living a free normal life when ISIS invaded her home town. Her family was taken and she was stolen away to be sex slave of ISIS. This is the story of ISIS life behind the scenes as the stolen women are mistreated and how Farida and three others were able to escape ISIS.
I was not familiar with Yazidi beliefs and thought them strange as I am a Christian who believes it wrong to worship angels. But the story of Farida's experiences was unflinching giving an accurate idea of what captured women suffer in the hands of ISIS fighters. I am glad I heard this book. Pray for the women still in their clutches!
1 person found this helpful
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- JR Odyssey
- 10-21-21
So Much Bad In The Name of Religion
For me this book is just one more example of the horrors that have been and continue to be committed in the name of religion. Whether it is Catholic vs Protestants, Christians vs Muslims, Sunnis vs Shias, or any combination, these 3 religions (which all worship the same God) have for centuries inflicted cruelty on those with different beliefs. It is no wonder that religion is dying in the western world when such hypocrisy continues.
This story is a gripping account of one young woman's abduction, captivity and escape from ISIS militants. Written about events in 2014-15, it starts by providing a glimpse of Farida's life in a small Yazidi village in northern Iraq. After the attack on her village she and other young girls are taken and held in a slave market in Syria to be sold to ISIS soldiers. The story goes on to describe her struggles, fights, and determination to gain her freedom and retain her dignity.
After being united with relatives and people from her own community, I was saddened to find the young women who had escaped were treated as pariahs. Again, the religious beliefs of their community are punishing the young women for something that they had no responsibility or control. Even Farida lapses into bouts of guilt and shame due to societal norms and pressures. It just compounds the tragedy of the story.
Overall I think the narrative was well written and succinctly told Farida's story. It was hard to put down and a quick listen. I think Sawalha did an excellent job in the narration and I don't like many female narrators.
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- William
- 10-20-21
Terribly brave
This account is terribly brave. I went into it knowing to some degree what it would hold, but the voice of this story made it so personal, so close. It’s a hard book, but an important book.