"[A] heart-felt, moving ... examination of a greatly changed Middle East and the groups that benefited from their hostage taking and other terrorist activities, but are far from atoning for them."
Rod Nordland, international correspondent at large, The New York Times and author of The Lovers "Deeply personal and brutally frank ... powerfully demonstrates that suffering need not destroy." ... Read more
Terry Waite CBE, President of Hostage UK and author of Taken on Trust "A gutsy coming-of-age memoir, beautifully written, and always provocative. From wounded adolescence to fearless investigative reporter, Sulome Anderson confronts her father's kidnappers-and along the way, she shines a harsh light on the murky world of intelligence in a distraught Middle East. A poignant and astonishing mystery story."
Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames A remarkable personal story as well as penetrating insight into the adamantine world of the Middle East, where truth and politics are irreconcilable.
Brian Keenan, former hostage and author of An Evil Cradling "An excellent piece of reportage from someone who clearly has an intimate understanding of the Middle East, interwoven with an equally gripping and emotional account of one woman's quest for reason and forgiveness. This is the story that few journalists have the bravery to write about others, let alone themselves."
Reza Azlan, author of Zealot [Sulome's] brutally candid, fiercely intelligent, and beautifully crafted memoir is both a fascinating introduction to the shadow world of Middle East intrigue and an inspiring story of resilience and recovery."
Stephen M. Walt, coauthor of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy "There are times when you want to look away. This book is that personal. By telling the story of the author-and her famous family-it also traces the story of terrorism in the modern era, in gripping and intimate ways."
Brian Williams, MSNBC "A perilous and riveting spiral into Middle Eastern politics, exploring the dawn of the terrorist era in Beirut ... Anderson creates a compelling depiction of the collateral damage of terrorism and a remarkable piece of investigative journalism with a surprise twist."
Publishers Weekly "Anderson is at her best when she teases apart the narrative's many threads, which number not just Hezbollah, but also the broader community of Shiite Islam, to say nothing of Israeli intelligence, the CIA, Iran, and other actors in set pieces such as the Beirut embassy bombing."
Kirkus Show Less