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A House in the Sky

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A House in the Sky

By: Amanda Lindhout, Sara Corbett
Narrated by: Amanda Lindhout
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About this listen

As a child, Amanda Lindhout escaped a violent household by paging through issues of National Geographic and imagining herself in its exotic locales. Later in life, in war-ridden Afghanistan and Iraq, she carved out a fledgling career as a television reporter. And then, in August 2008, she travelled to Somalia – "the most dangerous place on earth."

On her fourth day, she was abducted by a group of masked men along a dusty road. Held hostage for 460 days, Amanda converts to Islam as a survival tactic, receives "wife lessons" from one of her captors, and risks a daring escape. Moved between a series of abandoned houses in the desert, she survives on memory - every lush detail of the world she experienced in her life before captivity - and on strategy, fortitude, and hope. When she is most desperate, she visits a house in the sky, high above the tortured woman kept in chains in the dark.

A House in the Sky is the searing and intimate story of an intrepid young woman and her search for compassion in the face of unimaginable adversity.

©2013 Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett. (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Activists Politicians Politics & Activism Women Disappearance Middle East Iran War Africa Marriage

Critic reviews

'Moving and informative reading for everyone.' ( Library Journal)
'Writing with immediacy and urgency, Lindhout and Corbett recount the horrific ordeal in crisp, frank, evocative prose. But what readers will walk away with is an admiration for Lindhout’s deep reserves of courage under unimaginable circumstances.' ( Booklist)
All stars
Most relevant
I don’t usually write reviews but I felt compelled to on this occasion I didn’t realise that it was based on a true story till the very end . I am so sad at what Amanda and Nigel had to go through, sadder still that their trauma, instead of making their friendship stronger completely tore them apart - family politics … what a shame . I wish them both well .

So humbling……

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Brilliantly written, Amanda tells the harrowing story of her kidnap and captivity in Somalia. Some of it is not easy to listen to and her strength and will to survive are heart warming and heartbreaking in equal measure. What an extraordinary woman!

An extraordinary book!

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Overall I would recommend this book. It's pretty gripping. Took a while to get going though. The first 1/3 of the book was mostly about her previous travels round the globe but when the story takes off it is pretty gripping and to be fair it normally takes me months to get through an audiobook. This one I've finished so quick my next audible credit isn't even available yet :)

Interesting

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An insight into this hostile world,and its reasoning processes. Its a shame that Amanda missed seeing the beautiful side.

eye opener

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Would you listen to A House in the Sky again? Why?

Compelling but heartbreaking story. Could not help thinking how strong Amanda is.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Amanda is so forgiving and her strength of character got her through a terrible ordeal which was made worse by the mere fact that she was a woman.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This story is so sad in places it made me cry

Compelling

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