A little over a month ago, I read a book excerpt in Vogue magazine that intrigued me like no other article has ever done. The book is entitled, In The Skin Of A Jihadist. After reading the excerpt, I went to Amazon and read the reviews, they all concurred that it is a riveting story. So I decided to check it out of my library rather than purchase it. No copies were available, and I was 5th in line for the next available book. I thought to myself, "oh great, it'll be Christmas before I see a copy." Since I was in the middle of reading a couple of other books, I decided that I could wait, and if it didn't turn up, I could always purchase a copy. To my surprise, the book was available in less than 3 weeks. Now I know why. It is the most riveting, compelling story that I have read in sometime, possibly ever. The book arrived just before I left for Maine, so I decided to take it with me and read it while I was away. Before I packed the book, my husband was able to read maybe the first 10 pages. I was instructed to "please don't forget that book as I can't wait to read it."
The story is the true account of a French journalist who wanted to know why so many young people, male and female alike, are leaving France, going to Syria and joining ISIS.
There is nothing gruesome in the book, at least nothing more than we've heard on the news. At one point, as the investigation began to fall apart, I was screaming in my mind, "ABORT, ABORT, ABORT!!!!" I knew that the journalist lived, after all, she wrote the book, but I was so afraid of what might be about to happen to her.
After I finished the book, all I wanted was to be able to talk to someone about what I had read. But no one I know had read the book, and if I talked to anyone, I would spoil the story, so I had to keep my mouth shut. Once I was back home, my husband grabbed the book and finished it in less than 24 hours. I was so happy to finally be able to talk about what I had read. I made the comment that I thought that everyone should read this book. My husband is usually not as passionate as I am, but he quietly shook his head and said, "yes, I agree."
You can find the book HERE on Amazon. Read the reviews and make your own decision about whether to read it or not. You can also see a video interview that was done with the author HERE.
After reading this book, I thought about how prior to September 11th, I knew about Iraq, Iran, Syria, but it was there, not here. And then in the blink of an eye, 2 planes were flown into the World Trade Towers, another into the Pentagon and the last, thanks to some very brave people, was flown into the ground. From that moment on, our lives changed and it's no longer just there, but here. After I read the book, I remembered something I was told a long time ago, "if those who are against you take the time to know who you are, you too must take the time to know who they are."
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