A House in the Sky

Books | Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs

4.3

(1.2K)

Amanda Lindhout

Sara Corbett

BREAKING NEWS: Amanda Lindhout’s lead kidnapper, Ali Omar Ader, has been caught. Amanda Lindhout wrote about her fifteen month abduction in Somalia in A House in the Sky. It is the New York Times bestselling memoir of a woman whose curiosity led her to the world’s most remote places and then into captivity: “Exquisitely told…A young woman’s harrowing coming-of-age story and an extraordinary narrative of forgiveness and spiritual triumph” (The New York Times Book Review).As a child, Amanda Lindhout escaped a violent household by paging through issues of National Geographic and imagining herself visiting its exotic locales. At the age of nineteen, working as a cocktail waitress, she began saving her tips so she could travel the globe. Aspiring to understand the world and live a significant life, she backpacked through Latin America, Laos, Bangladesh, and India, and emboldened by each adventure, went on to Sudan, Syria, and Pakistan. In war-ridden Afghanistan and Iraq she carved out a fledgling career as a television reporter. And then, in August 2008, she traveled 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 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 woman kept in chains, in the dark. Vivid and suspenseful, as artfully written as the finest novel, A House in the Sky is “a searingly unsentimental account. Ultimately it is compassion—for her naïve younger self, for her kidnappers—that becomes the key to Lindhout’s survival” (O, The Oprah Magazine).

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More Details:

Author

Amanda Lindhout

Pages

384

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

2013-09-10

ISBN

1451645627 9781451645620

Ratings

Google: 5

Community ReviewsSee all

"It’s a brilliant read, you’re so welcome! "

Carly Mitchell

"An amazing story of an amazing woman. This story is crazy. I could not put this book down."

Becky Mayhew-Lear

"God bless Amanda. I don't believe I could gave endured what she did. "

Pam McGovern Cecchini

"A HOUSE IN THE SKY by Amanda Lindhout - ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫/5. What a roller coaster of a book. I can't even being to fathom the experience that Amanda went through. I cringed, cried and remained hopeful for Amanda and Nigel. This was an incredibly sad, yet eye opening story. In summary: Amanda at the age of 19, begins to backpack all over the world. Traveling back and fourth from overseas to her home base in Calgary, Alberta to refill her bank account for her next adventure. She travels to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where she becomes a TV reporter, and eventually decides to continue her reporting in Somolia with her friend (and ex-love) Nigel. Amongst their travels, both find themselves kidnapped, beaten and for Amanda - raped on multiple occasions. They endure pain, suffering and the struggle to survive for a total of 15 months. What I liked: This book was heart wrenching and painful to read at times. It was never boring, but it was so descriptive throughout their experience, making it painful. I put this in my "liked" section, because not all writers can portray that level of pain onto paper. I liked how real it felt; none of it sounded cheesey or dramatized. I also liked the final work by Amanda. I don't want to give too much away, but I love the fact that she put her experience into creating positive futures for Somolians. It's selfless and humbling. What I disliked: As much as I enjoyed learning about Amanda's early travels, I feel like it's the cause for why I took so long to finish the book. I became side-tracked or distracted during the beginning, and was waiting for the story to pick up. But, once it did, I couldn't put it down. Would I recommend this to a friend? Absolutely."

Sarah Camus

"Actual: 3.5 stars"

Liesl Prentice

"heart-wrenching, astonishing, and inspirational. the story illustrates how unsettling how cruel the world can be"

Khawlah Usmani

"Riveting from cover to cover. This book will grab you from the first page and hold you until the end. It’s an incredible true story of strength, endurance, perseverance, survival, and forgiveness. Very good read! "

K M

Karen McHugh

"This is the only one I've read it but absolutely loved it"