The Road of Lost Innocence - Hardcover

Mam, Somaly; Marshall, Ruth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385526210 ISBN 13: 9780385526210

Publisher: Doubleday, 2008

Synopsis

A portion of the proceeds of this book will be donated to the Somaly Mam Foundation.

A riveting, raw, and beautiful memoir of tragedy and hope

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. Emboldened by her newfound freedom, education, and security, Somaly blossomed but remained haunted by the girls in the brothels she left behind.
Written in exquisite, spare, unflinching prose, The Road of Lost Innocence recounts the experiences of her early life and tells the story of her awakening as an activist and her harrowing and brave fight against the powerful and corrupt forces that steal the lives of these girls. She has orchestrated raids on brothels and rescued sex workers, some as young as five and six; she has built shelters, started schools, and founded an organization that has so far saved more than four thousand women and children in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. Her memoir will leave you awestruck by her tenacity and courage and will renew your faith in the power of an individual to bring about change.

To learn more about how you can help fight human trafficking, visit the foundation’s website: www.somaly.org.

About this title

Review:

** 'This is a book about how one person's courage can make a difference (SUNDAY BUSINESS POST)

** 'Written deftly and sparely, this story easily transcends the current rash of 'misery (life-stories. Somaly Mam has no truck with sensationalism or self pity: action for change is patently what she is all about.')

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING (** 'There's a big difference between misery memoir and campaigning autobiography as this traumatic and brave account of Mam's abandonment into the Cambodian sex slave trade amply demonstrates.')

SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY (** 'This activist's memoir, driven by a sense of purpose greater than the self, is related with a haunting directness, in a dignified translation from the original French by Lisa Appignanesi')

Book Description:

The true story of an orphaned Cambodian girl who spent her childhood in slavery and prostitution.

About this edition

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0385526210
• ISBN 13: 9780385526210
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 193