∎ [PDF] A House In the Sky Amanda Lindhout Sara Corbett 9781451651690 Books

A House In the Sky Amanda Lindhout Sara Corbett 9781451651690 Books

Download As PDF : A House In the Sky Amanda Lindhout Sara Corbett 9781451651690 Books

A House In the Sky Amanda Lindhout Sara Corbett 9781451651690 Books

I finished this book in a couple of days, mainly because it was so hard to put down. Then I decided to wait several days before writing this review because I wanted to be fair to the author, Amanda Lindhout. I won't spend a lot of time covering the events of the 15 months Lindhout was in captivity since many reviews have done that. While I read the book, I alternated between disgust at what was happening to Lindhout and anger at her for putting herself in that position. I would love to know what credentialed journalists think of her and what she did. She fantasized about being a war reporter, took a flying short course in photography, and then immersed herself in one of the most dangerous parts of the world. For all practical purposes, Lindhout was completely unprepared for what she did. This book reminds me a lot of Cheryl Strayed's book Wild. This story has almost become a genre: people putting themselves in difficult situations with little or no preparation. All of that said, no one deserves what happened to Lindhout, and I admire her ability to mentally overcome the abuse she endured. I also admire what she did after she was rescued building a foundation rather than merely running out to the speaker's circuit to profit from her spupidity. To say this is a great story seems a bit unseemly since it is so brutally violent. This I guarantee: you will be riveted while reading Lindhout's story.


Tags : A House In the Sky [Amanda Lindhout, Sara Corbett] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A House in the Sky is a 2013 memoir by Amanda Lindhout, co-written with journalist Sara Corbett. It recounts Lindhout's experience in southern Somalia as a hostage of teenage militants from the Hizbul Islam fundamentalist group.,Amanda Lindhout, Sara Corbett,A House In the Sky,New York, NY: Scribner,1451651694

A House In the Sky Amanda Lindhout Sara Corbett 9781451651690 Books Reviews

I have previously read about people being captured in foreign countries, and I've seen newscasts about people being captured. Always, I felt sad about their plight, but having read Amanda Lindhout's memoir "A House in the Sky" I can honestly state that I never had any idea how horrid, detestable, appalling, and devastating being a captive would be. She brings her firsthand experience to the reader, and believe me, it's not an easy story to read and digest.
How Ms Lindhout could contemplate suicide during her captivity is not surprising. How she could contemplate forgiveness of her captors is.
It is this humbleness and courage throughout her despicable, frightening captivity that will stay with me a long, long time. Amanda Lindhout lived to write about Hell. I pray no one else will ever have to go through what she did.
A House In The Sky is the memoir of Amanda Lindhout whose wanderlust brought her to over 40 countries, including Somalia where she was kidnapped and held captive for over a year. This is not a book you enjoy but it is absolutely captivating. It is non-fiction that reads like a page-turning thriller, and Amanda’s strength and growth through her experience is inspiring.

Many readers love starting a new book but it’s my least favorite part of reading since it usually takes some time to draw me in. Here, I was hooked on page one and it never let me go. The first third of the book is fascinating and enticing, focusing on her early life and traveling adventures. Once she is taken it is even more riveting, now in a nail biting way. It is brutal but beautiful, harrowing but hopeful. Amanda’s story is one of forgiveness and resilience, told in an honest, evocative voice. It will stick with me and is, without question, a favorite memoir read.

Recommend for Anyone interested in understanding how someone can overcome extreme adversity and anguish. Those looking for a story of strength and survival. Readers who prefer their nonfiction to read like fiction.

May not be for you if You’re very sensitive. (The writing of what happened to Amanda while held captive is not gratuitous, but it is difficult to read especially knowing that it’s true). You hate senseless risk taking. (Amanda willingly puts herself in dangerous situations but speaks frankly about her naive feelings of invincibility, associated guilt, and ultimately forgiveness).
This book documents the kidnapping of Amanda Lindhout and a fellow journalist in Somalia, but the first part of the book also details the author's childhood and other travels. The background is essential to the main story because it gives the reader a sense of who the author is, her curiosity for the world, her adventurous nature and makes you relate to her and empathize with her during her kidnapping.

There has been some criticism of the author and her naiveté in going to a place like Somalia, but there are two things I would like to mention that made this book incredible and different

1. At no point does the author indulge in self-pity, which considering her circumstances, is an incredible feat. She describes her kidnapping in vivid detail including the emotional and physical abuse that she suffers, but there is no under-lying attempt to gain sympathy or self-pity. She comes across as incredibly strong and that one does feel immense sympathy for the horrendous circumstances that she was in is due to the nature of what she underwent.

2. The author also has incredible control over her portrayal of Somalia and its people. Somalia is a foreign country to most people, considering that it is not a tourist destination and any news coming from the country generally tends to be about violence and war. In that situation, it is very easy for unaware readers to make vast generalizations about Somalians and the country itself based on Lindhout's experience. But she makes sure to never make any generalization about the country, and goes as far as to attempt to understand the reasons behind her kidnappers' actions. After the reading the book, I got a sense that Somalia is a dangerous country due to its political circumstances but I made no other assumptions about it.

Above all I really recommend this book as a story of human survival and resilience amidst the harshest of circumstances.
I finished this book in a couple of days, mainly because it was so hard to put down. Then I decided to wait several days before writing this review because I wanted to be fair to the author, Amanda Lindhout. I won't spend a lot of time covering the events of the 15 months Lindhout was in captivity since many reviews have done that. While I read the book, I alternated between disgust at what was happening to Lindhout and anger at her for putting herself in that position. I would love to know what credentialed journalists think of her and what she did. She fantasized about being a war reporter, took a flying short course in photography, and then immersed herself in one of the most dangerous parts of the world. For all practical purposes, Lindhout was completely unprepared for what she did. This book reminds me a lot of Cheryl Strayed's book Wild. This story has almost become a genre people putting themselves in difficult situations with little or no preparation. All of that said, no one deserves what happened to Lindhout, and I admire her ability to mentally overcome the abuse she endured. I also admire what she did after she was rescued building a foundation rather than merely running out to the speaker's circuit to profit from her spupidity. To say this is a great story seems a bit unseemly since it is so brutally violent. This I guarantee you will be riveted while reading Lindhout's story.