The Last Girl
My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State
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4.6 • 44 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
WINNER OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE • In this “courageous” (The Washington Post) memoir of survival, a former captive of the Islamic State tells her harrowing and ultimately inspiring story.
Nadia Murad was born and raised in Kocho, a small village of farmers and shepherds in northern Iraq. A member of the Yazidi community, she and her brothers and sisters lived a quiet life. Nadia had dreams of becoming a history teacher or opening her own beauty salon.
On August 15th, 2014, when Nadia was just twenty-one years old, this life ended. Islamic State militants massacred the people of her village, executing men who refused to convert to Islam and women too old to become sex slaves. Six of Nadia’s brothers were killed, and her mother soon after, their bodies swept into mass graves. Nadia was taken to Mosul and forced, along with thousands of other Yazidi girls, into the ISIS slave trade.
Nadia would be held captive by several militants and repeatedly raped and beaten. Finally, she managed a narrow escape through the streets of Mosul, finding shelter in the home of a Sunni Muslim family whose eldest son risked his life to smuggle her to safety.
Today, Nadia's story—as a witness to the Islamic State's brutality, a survivor of rape, a refugee, a Yazidi—has forced the world to pay attention to an ongoing genocide. It is a call to action, a testament to the human will to survive, and a love letter to a lost country, a fragile community, and a family torn apart by war.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Nadia Murad’s powerfully intimate story of being held captive by the Islamic State left us shaken. Kidnapped at age 21 by ISIS fighters, the young Iraqi woman details the assaults, torture, and repeated rapes she experienced with an unflinching sense of urgency. The Last Girl bears testament to Murad’s indomitable spirit—the most impassioned part of the book follows her escape and her transformation from the survivor of a genocidal atrocity to an outspoken, Nobel Peace Prize–winning activist against sexual violence.
Customer Reviews
The Last Girl by Nadia Murad
The author writes very well, taking the reader into the world of the Yazidi, a minority religion in Iraq. She and her family lived a peaceful life. Although poor they were productive and happy. Then they watched as Isis moved closer and closer to their little town and took over, killing the men and taking the girls as sex slaves. It’s A subject that pains her every time she tells it but it must be told and told internationally. She explains why the Yazidi are not acceptable by many of the religious sects in Iraq despite their peaceful co existence with everyone.
Read this book if you want to understand some of the little discussed aspects of the war in Iraq.
Incredible
Wow. This is one story I'll never forget. Powerful, fascinating and terrifying, this book made me thankful for all my blessings, and made me admire the strength and courage of the women and girls who are still trapped in a world few can imagine. Everyone should read this book.
The last girl
A very good read. Very informative.