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Biography & Autobiography Personal Memoirs

A House in the Sky

by (author) Amanda Lindhout & Sara Corbett

Publisher
Scribner
Initial publish date
Sep 2013
Category
Personal Memoirs, Editors, Journalists, Publishers, Women
  • CD-Audio

    ISBN
    9781442367548
    Publish Date
    Sep 2013
    List Price
    $47.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781451651485
    Publish Date
    Aug 2014
    List Price
    $24.99
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781451651690
    Publish Date
    Sep 2013
    List Price
    $29.99
  • Downloadable audio file

    ISBN
    9781442367494
    Publish Date
    Sep 2013
    List Price
    $32.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781451651720
    Publish Date
    Sep 2013
    List Price
    $13.99 USD

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Description

The spectacularly dramatic memoir of a woman whose curiosity about the world led her from rural Canada to imperiled and dangerous countries on every continent, and then into fifteen months of harrowing captivity in Somalia—a story of courage, resilience, and extraordinary grace.

The dramatic and redemptive memoir of a woman whose curiosity led her to the world’s most beautiful and remote places, its most imperiled and perilous countries, and then into fifteen months of harrowing captivity—an exquisitely written story of courage, resilience, and grace

As a child, Amanda Lindhout escaped a violent household by paging through issues of National Geographic and imagining herself in its exotic locales. At the age of nineteen, working as a cocktail waitress in Calgary, Alberta, 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 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 woman kept in chains, in the dark, being tortured.

Vivid and suspenseful, as artfully written as the finest novel, A House in the Sky is the searingly intimate story of an intrepid young woman and her search for compassion in the face of unimaginable adversity.

About the authors

Amanda Lindhout is the founder of the Global Enrichment Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports development, aid, and education initiatives in Somalia and Kenya. For more information, visit AmandaLindhout.com and GlobalEnrichmentFoundation.com.

Amanda Lindhout's profile page

Sara Corbett is a contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine. Her work has also appeared in National Geographic; Elle; Outside; O, The Oprah Magazine; Esquire; and Mother Jones.

Sara Corbett's profile page

Editorial Reviews

“A vivid, gut-wrenching, beautifully written, memorable book…”

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“In this lyrical and inspiring book, Amanda Lindhout describes humanity's capacity for cruelty. Yet she also brings to life the deep compassion and courage that resides in all of us. A story of grace, insight and tenacity, A House in the Sky shows us the power and importance of perseverance, hope and forgiveness.”

David Rohde, Reuters columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Rope and a Prayer and Beyond War

“A great book…The lesson [Amanda Lindhout] taught me and others who know this remarkable young woman is: What matters is not how you got there, but what you do once you’ve arrived.”

ELLE

“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 (starred review)

“Lindhout manages to tell her story and to transcend it. Her account stands as a nonfiction companion to Emma Donoghue’s shattering, haunting novel about captivity, Room.”

Slate

A House in the Sky is a stunning story of strength and survival. It is sometimes brutal, but always beautiful as Amanda Lindhout discovers that in a fight for her life, her most powerful weapons are hope and compassion.”

Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle and The Silver Star

“A vivid and moving account of how Amanda kept alive the inner light and the spirit of forgiveness even as she found herself in the heart of darkness.”

Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now and A New Earth

A House in the Sky is a chilling memoir of unconquerable, fierce human spirit.”

Vancouver Sun

“This is one of the most powerfully-written books I have ever read. Harrowing, hopeful, graceful, redeeming and true, it tells a story of inhumanity and humanity that somehow feels deeply ancient and completely modern. It is beautiful, devastating and heroic—both a shout of defiance and a humbling call to prayer.”

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love and The Signature of All Things

“[A House in the Sky] is a compelling and powerful work destined to make a difference.”

Winnipeg Free Press

A House in the Sky is an account of survival, recovery, and boundless compassion.”

Quill & Quire

A House in the Sky is the riveting story, exquisitely told, of a young woman’s passionate quest to create an uncommonly large life, against all odds. Amanda Lindhout’s journey is a singular one, an epic adventure that ranges from colorful to gripping, in which the stakes are nothing less than absolutely everything. With stunning honesty and clarity, Lindhout and Corbett have made certain of two things: No reader will ever forget this book—or be able to put it down.”

Susan Casey, author of The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean

"An extraordinary narrative of forgiveness and spiritual triumph..."

The New York Times Book Review

“A well-honed, harrowing account…”

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Buy and devour this book for an unflinching look at the transformation of a young girl into a determined woman…A House in the Sky will have you in tears of rage and awash in dread, even as it is impossible to put down."

Calgary Herald

“A poetic, profound, and thrilling exploration of one woman’s misadventure set against the backdrop of global terrorism…Elegant and evocative.”

Vogue