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Yasmeena's Choice
- A True Story of War, Rape, Courage and Survival
- Narrated by: Parisa Johnston
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
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Yasmeena's Choice
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Summary
This is the true story of Yasmeena, a bright and beautiful young Lebanese woman who was imprisoned in Kuwait during the first Gulf War. Yasmeena's shocking journey is a tale of the madness of war, of the sexual brutality unleashed by chaos, and of one woman’s courage to stand in danger’s way to aid her fellow sufferers. This is an explicit, graphic, and honest book. It is for mature audiences only.
Jean Sasson has spent her career sharing the personal stories of courageous Middle Eastern women. Princess: Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia
was an international bestseller. It has become a classic, taught in colleges and high schools and devoured by anyone who aspires to understand the Middle East. Yasmeena was quite literally an innocent abroad. She was a college educated, English-speaking flight attendant graced with an unusual amount of confidence and sophistication. She was also a virgin and a conservative Muslim daughter and sister. When Yasmeena's flight out of Kuwait was delayed, it was because Saddam Hussein had just invaded Kuwait. Iraqi soldiers threw her into a woman's prison where the guards committed ghastly sexual attacks and tortured the women in excruciating ways.After Yasmeena was brutalized by the captain of the prison, she thought she was the most unfortunate woman on earth. But that was before she befriended Lana, whose brutal rapist took glee in inflicting hurt. Yasmeena used her position as the captain's favorite to protect her friend, though she also was forced into a wrenching decision.
Yasmeena's Choice reads like a thriller. As the Americans and other allies march into Kuwait and the Iraqis flee, Yasmeena escapes. Eventually she finds a safe harbor where Sasson interviews her and records every horrific element of her experience. Sasson has wanted to write this story for many years. But she knew that the sexual explicitness and violence would make the tale difficult to publish. A year ago, Yasmeena's story and the choices she was forced to make invaded Sasson’s dreams. She realized that now was the right time to share the story. And so here it is, Sasson's testament to an articulate, angry, brave young woman who not only survived but who was eager to share her story with the world.
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What listeners say about Yasmeena's Choice
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs K.F. Clarke
- 21-04-14
Harrowing and thought provoking
What did you like most about Yasmeena's Choice?
It is hard to say I liked anything about this story as is it so harrowing but it made me question what I would do in the same circumstances. I admire her strength and her ability to think about others while in an awful situation herself.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Yasmeena is very real in my mind now and I will never forget her story.
What does Parisa Johnston bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Paris's narration of this book was wonderfull. She bought it to life so much that at times I had to take a break as it all became too real.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Lots of emotions were brought out by this book. Horror, sadness, pity, hate and loathing of men who can treat women this way.
Any additional comments?
This book kept me captivated the whole way through.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CG
- 07-02-19
Gut wrenching
Brutally honest, sparing no details of the horrific events that occurred to innocent women during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait - this book had me in tears over and over, how ‘humans’ can do this to one another is beyond me.
The story is beautifully told in the most sensitive way possible for such violent attacks.
What an eye opener!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ingrid
- 23-06-23
True story!
A true story of war, the innocent victims of rape, torture & brutality… This book is a story of one particular girls brutal torture & that of another girls called Lana..
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- julia
- 16-12-15
Could Not Stop Reading
Whilst this book is heart wrenching I could not stop until I had finished it. I only wish to hear how Yasmeena is now.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Frank Luton
- 18-02-22
Quite disturbing
Difficult to comprehend how human beings can behave this way even in a supposed war,that such cruelty and humiliation can be inflicted on another human is difficult to take in living in western society. An eye opening story of self survival.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Andy T
- 02-05-23
I wonder how true a story this is…
I confess, I stopped listening to this when it seemed to me the author was just after page after page of prurient detail. It seemed to me that this was aimed at readers who would be thrilled by the enormous members and multiple rapes (really? 40 days at three times a day? What soldier is so keen for so long). I’m afraid to say I started to believe this was written for the audience whovv BBC would want to read it. And that’s not me.
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