Mayada, Daughter of Iraq: One Woman's Survival Under Saddam Hussein by Jean Sasson

Synopsis from Barnes & Noble: "From personal meetings with Saddam Hussein and Chemical Ali to raising two small children as a single mother, Mayada's life was at once privileged, yet carefully balanced. But life can shift quickly in Iraq and Mayada finds herself thrown into a small cell with seventeen other women. The shadow women. The women rally around each other to share their unbelievable stories and in so doing gain the strength to survive. The names of the shadow women are scrawled in charcoal onto the cell wall in the hopes that one day one of them will make it out to tell others of their existence. This is Mayada's courageous story, but also that of her sisters."

What an incredible story! Like many Americans, I've had some idea that life in Iraq under Saddam Hussein was terrible, but I had not given any specific thought to what that life was like. And I had absolutely no idea of the way the Iraqi people were arrested for no reason, held indefinitely with no rights, and worst of all, the torture that was inflicted on them. Ms. Sasson does a wonderful job of describing people and places, and she tells Mayada's tale in a way that allows the reader to feel an emotional connection with her and her former cellmates. While I don't agree with the continued involvement of the U.S. in Iraq, I can certainly agree that Saddam was a sadistic dictator who needed to be removed in one way or another (although it's our shame that we chose to remove him to protect our interests rather than because of any humanitarian motives). This book helps to remind us that those of us who live in the U.S. and other western countries should be grateful every day for the freedoms and protections we enjoy and the lives that we are able to lead.