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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

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)
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I was holding my breath for her during her whole trial. amazing story of hope and survival

Incredible story of survival

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This is a powerful and harrowing story about hope - the loss and regain of it - and forgiveness. You really live the story with the author as she narrates it and at times you can hear the emotion in her voice. I can't imagine the strength it must take to relive this nightmare by writing and reading this book.

Powerful and harrowing

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What Amanda must have gone through during this harrowing experience is beyond comprehension. How anyone found the inner strength to survive this is unimaginable. This is a beautifully told account of what must habe been an insanely horrendous experience.

Heart wrenching and warming

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I remember the story back when they were released and had always been interested in the story.
This is an in depth view from what happened, a hard situation but the book was a great listen and in the end I couldn't stop listening

A great book

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Moving and touching story. Hard to hear how something like this actually happened to someone I can’t even imagine. Incredible story. Well said. Highly recommend.

Incredible story of resilience

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A deeply traumatic yet soul enriching read. I’m not sure I’ll ever be the same again after listening to Amanda.

A truly harrowing story

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Out of respect for Amanda and her courage to relive her experience to write the book - this is a Must read / listen.
I have been left with pure admiration of Amanda's strength of mind to survive not only her time as a hostage but to live her new life in freedom.
I can not imagine the feeling of one day let alone more than 460 days of torture. and for her parent to not be able to protect their child must be heart wrenching.
My heart goes out to her and her family and I wish her nothing but peace and love.

Heartbreaking yet inspirational

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Wow. What a story. Mind blowing. Thank you for sharing your story with all of us.

What an amazing woman

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I had read the book previously, but there was something more haunting and real about it being read by the writer. Amanda is an incredibly brave strong woman, the book so well written and my heart still aches every time I read or listen to it

Heart breaking

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An amazing account of an incredible story of survival. Compelling and horrifying experiences read beautifully by the author

extraordinary work

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