Stolen: Escape from Syria - Softcover

Monaghan, Louise

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1780575912 ISBN 13: 9781780575919

Publisher: Mainstream Publishing, 2013

Synopsis

In the middle of one of the worst civil wars in Syria's history, Louise Monaghan crossed a heavily guarded border to save her six-year-old daughter from the father who had callously snatched her from her home in Cyprus. Not knowing what lay ahead, the Irish mother tricked her ex-husband into believing she still loved him and wanted them to live together as a family, purely so that she could see her kidnapped child again.

Once in his homeland, Louise too was held captive, locked inside a run-down house day and night with little food and no hope of being released. Sick from polluted water, severely beaten by her ex-husband and abandoned by the Turkish men paid to rescue her, she took her little girl and made a daring escape.

The journey they made through bomb attacks and sniper fire, and across a heavily patrolled mountain range in the dead of night, was a harrowing ordeal. Yet miraculously they both survived, and Stolen is Louise's breathtaking account of events.

About this title

About the Author

LOUISE MONAGHAN studied travel and tourism before working as a senior travel consultant. She is now trying to rebuild her life in Cyprus surrounded and protected by a large group of friends.

Review

“This is a courageous, and ultimately engrossing, story of a woman's quest to bring her daughter back to safety.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“In this intense memoir, Monahan undertakes a terrifying journey to rescue her daughter following the child's kidnapping by her father. Their treacherous trek out of war-torn Syria into Lebanon to safety was suspenseful. But it is the staggering physical and psychological abuse Monahan suffered during her relationship with her ex-husband Mostafa that is the most disquieting aspect of her narrative. A native of Ireland and a successful sales consultant, Monahan was living in Cyprus when she met her future husband. Early on there were signs of trouble: At one point Mostafa nearly killed her--she'd discovered he had a wife and children in Syria. Still, Monahan continued the destructive relationship and acknowledged the absurdity of her actions: "It was a stupid way of looking at life, but I knew no other, so I just endured what I had to, as long as it didn't affect my child." Following the couple's divorce, her ex-husband kidnapped their daughter taking her into war-ravaged Syria. Monahan bravely recounts this intimate family disaster with hopes her story will spark discussions about the rights of women in Muslim societies.” ―Publishers Weekly

“An incredible journey to the hell of the Syrian warzone.” ―Sunday World

“Reads like a thriller . . . an extraordinary story.” ―Irish Sunday Independent

Edition details

• Publisher: Mainstream Publishing
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1780575912
• ISBN 13: 9781780575919
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256