If you don't know who these two women are I suggest you quickly Google their names and find out RIGHT NOW. Or, you can just keep reading as I'll try to summarize who they are in one or two sentences.
Malala is a native of Pakistan who, from the young age of 11, has been outspoken about the education women in her country are getting, what they should be getting and how they are being treated by the Taliban whose violence is known by many of us her in America. Well, they didn't like how outspoken she was becoming and just who was listening to her so exactly one year and one day ago she was shot in the head while traveling home from school on the back of a truck which is how they would travel in her town called Swat. I Am Malala is her story. She is only 15 and already she is shortlisted to possibly be the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Elizabeth Smart was 14 years old when she was abducted from her bedroom in the middle of the night by a crazy man to be his second wife. His first wife was complicit and an accomplice in the whole ordeal. The man turned out to be someone her parents let into their home because they were known for always wanting to help the homeless. She was tied and raped almost every night, sometimes several times a day, for 9 months before she was finally found by the police. This happened back in 2001. It's now 12 years later and here is her story.
Two remarkable women with two incredibly brave stories to tell. I look forward to reading both of these books. I actually went to a book signing for Elizabeth Smart's book and got to meet her (see picture below).
My Story (Elizabeth Smart) Summary:
For the first time, ten years after her abduction from her Salt Lake City bedroom, Elizabeth Smart reveals how she survived and the secret to forging a new life in the wake of a brutal crime
On June 5, 2002, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart, the daughter of a close-knit Mormon family, was taken from her home in the middle of the night by religious fanatic, Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee. She was kept chained, dressed in disguise, repeatedly raped, and told she and her family would be killed if she tried to escape. After her rescue on March 12, 2003, she rejoined her family and worked to pick up the pieces of her life.
Now for the first time, in her memoir, MY STORY, she tells of the constant fear she endured every hour, her courageous determination to maintain hope, and how she devised a plan to manipulate her captors and convinced them to return to Utah, where she was rescued minutes after arriving. Smart explains how her faith helped her stay sane in the midst of a nightmare and how she found the strength to confront her captors at their trial and see that justice was served.
In the nine years after her rescue, Smart transformed from victim to advocate, traveling the country and working to educate, inspire and foster change. She has created a foundation to help prevent crimes against children and is a frequent public speaker. In 2012, she married Matthew Gilmour, whom she met doing mission work in Paris for her church, in a fairy tale wedding that made the cover of People magazine.
I Am Malala Summary:
When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.
On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.
Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.
I AM MALALA is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.
I AM MALALA will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.
What a great photo of you and Miss Smart!
ReplyDeleteI really need to read both of these, too. I'll have to look for them at the library soon.