Tag Archives: memoir

Book tour: The Road of Lost Innocence (The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine) by Somaly Mam

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The kind folks at WaterBrook Press sent me a copy of The Road of Lost Innocence (The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine) by Somaly Mam. From my point of view, this book has three things going for it – it’s written by a woman, it’s a memoir, and it focuses on Southeast Asia. All three tend to be reoccurring themes with my reading, so this book was a welcome addition to my bookshelf.

The Road of Lost Innocence is not just another story of a suffering victim; it’s how one woman is taking action on behalf of others, for the least of these.

From the inside cover:

Born in a village deep in the Cambodian forest, Somaly Mam was sold into sexual slavery by her grandfather when she was twelve years old. For the next decade she was shuttled through the brothels that make up the sprawling sex trade of Southeast Asia. Trapped in this dangerous and desperate world, she suffered the brutality and horrors of human trafficking – rape, torture, deprivation – until she managed to escape with the help of a French aid worker.

Somaly Mam is cofounder and president of AFESIP (Acting for Women in Distressing Situations), based in Cambodia, and president of the Somaly Mam Foundation, based in the United States. Under her leadership, the two organizations seek to save and socially reintegrate victims of sexual slavery in Southeast Asia. Mam was named a CNN Hero and a Glamour Woman of the Year in 2006.

From Amazon.com:

“The Road of Lost Innocence is unputdownable, and you read it with a lump in your throat. Somaly Mam’s story is an account of how humanity can sink to the lowest levels of depravity, but it is also a testimony of resistance and hope. She lifted herself out of a well of terror and found the determination and the resilience to save others. Somaly Mam is my candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.”
—Ayaan Hirsi Ali, author of Infidel

“An inspiring story from the front lines of a global tragedy. Somaly Mam’s courageous fight to save women and children reminds us that one person can stand up and change the fate of others for good.”
—Mariane Pearl, author of A Mighty Heart

Links

To learn more about how you can help fight human trafficking, visit the foundation’s website: www.somaly.org.  A portion of the proceeds of this book will be donated to the Somaly Mam Foundation.

You can watch Mam interviewed about rescuing children from the brothels in this 3-minute video.

© 2008 Monica Brand | Paper Bridges

Answering questions: more on author Elizabeth Gilbert

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Christian believers are still seeking answers about the author of Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, so here is a video from Authors@Google. It’s embedded, and I can’t figure out how to get the video here; just follow the link. The video is 30 minutes long – 10 minutes of Gilbert reading from her memoir, and then a Q and A period.

I think it’s interesting to note that her upbringing is sporadic church attendance at a church where there is “not a lot of talk about God.” Sad, especially when she explains how as a ten-year-old she is seeking answers about death and eternity – and it appears not one adult in her life can help her. If I were in the audience, I would have asked if she went to her mother, a Sunday School teacher or minister with her fears.

Watch and let me know your reactions:

YouTube – Authors@Google: Elizabeth Gilbert

Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez

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This book was a must read as soon as I saw the cover. I’m crazy for memoirs, especially stories of women living overseas in a Muslim culture. Kabul Beauty School is the story of how Deborah Rodriguez, a hair dresser from Michigan, started a beauty school for Afghan women in the war-torn city.

When you think of Westerners going to help with the rebuilding of Afghanistan, you don’t put hair dressers at the top of the list, do you? That’s another alluring aspect of the book – what’s this mere hair dresser going to do to help? Rodriguez found herself asking that same question when she first arrived in Kabul on a team with doctors, nurses and engineers. Kabul Beauty School is Rodriguez’s story of what a mere hair dresser can do.

For those of you concerned with behavior from a Christian viewpoint: Rodriguez does drop an f-bomb (did I just write f-bomb on my blog?), she smokes a lot, and marries a man without really knowing him very well. Yet for all her faults, she really gave up a lot to help many Afghan women learn a valuable trade.

One part of Rodriguez’s story troubled me: she recounted how her church’s leaders told her to remain in a physically abusive marriage. I hate, hate, reading that kind of stuff. For shame on those leaders, if that is true. She did eventually get away from the husband, and that’s great, but those stories make Christians look ignorant. The lesson here – careful how you council women in your church, because you never know who’s going to write a best selling memoir.

Reading this book reminded me that many women in the world face oppression and don’t enjoy many of the freedoms I do on a daily basis. To get a taste of the Afghan culture, and how an American woman brought beauty into their lives, read Kabul Beauty School.

© 2008 Monica Brand | Paper Bridges