Play Audiobook Sample
A House in the Sky: A Memoir Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(5.00) - 1 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
The New York Times bestselling memoir of a woman whose curiosity led her to the world’s most remote places and then into fifteen months of captivity: “Exquisitely told…A young woman’s harrowing coming-of-age story and an extraordinary narrative of forgiveness and spiritual triumph” (The New York Times Book Review).
As a child, Amanda Lindhout escaped a violent household by paging through issues of National Geographic and imagining herself visiting its exotic locales. At the age of nineteen, working as a cocktail waitress, she began saving her tips so she could travel the globe. Aspiring to understand the world and live a significant life, she backpacked through Latin America, Laos, Bangladesh, and India, and emboldened by each adventure, went on to Sudan, Syria, and Pakistan. In war-ridden Afghanistan and Iraq she carved out a fledgling career as a television reporter. And then, in August 2008, she traveled to Somalia—“the most dangerous place on earth.” On her fourth day, she was abducted by a group of masked men along a dusty road.
Held hostage for 460 days, Amanda survives on memory—every lush detail of the world she experienced in her life before captivity—and on strategy, fortitude, and hope. When she is most desperate, she visits a house in the sky, high above the woman kept in chains, in the dark.
Vivid and suspenseful, as artfully written as the finest novel, A House in the Sky is “a searingly unsentimental account. Ultimately it is compassion—for her naïve younger self, for her kidnappers—that becomes the key to Lindhout’s survival” (O, The Oprah Magazine).
Download and start listening now!
“Exquisitely told…[AHouse in the Sky] is much more than a gonzo adventure tale gone awry—it’s ayoung woman’s harrowing coming-of-age story and an extraordinary narrative offorgiveness and spiritual triumph…There’s no self-pity or grandiosity in thesepages. In the cleanest prose, she and Corbett allow events both horrific andabsurd…to unfold on their own. Lindhout’s resilience transforms the story froma litany of horrors into a humbling encounter with the human spirit.”
— New York Times Book Review
Quotes
-
“A vivid and moving account of how Amanda kept alive the inner light and the spirit of forgiveness even as she found herself in the heart of darkness.”
— Eckhart Tolle, New York Times bestselling author -
“Beautiful, devastating, and heroic—both a shout of defiance and a humbling call to prayer.”
— Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author -
“A stunning story of strength and survival. It is sometimes brutal, but always beautiful as Amanda Lindhout discovers that in a fight for her life, her most powerful weapons are hope and compassion.”
— Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author -
“With stunning honesty and clarity, Lindhout and Corbett have made certain of two things: No reader will ever forget this book—or be able to put it down.”
— Susan Casey, New York Times bestselling author -
“A House in the Sky shows us the power and importance of perseverance, hope, and forgiveness.”
— David Rohde, Pulitzer Prize–winning author -
“A great book…The lesson [Amanda Lindhout] taught me and others who know this remarkable young woman is: What matters is not how you got there, but what you do once you’ve arrived.”
— Elle -
“A poetic, profound, and thrilling exploration of one woman’s misadventure set against the backdrop of global terrorism…Elegant and evocative.”
— Vogue -
“[A] harrowing, beautifully written memoir….The wide-eyed optimism and unflappable determination that led [Amanda Lindhout] to danger also kept her alive…A brave, compassionate, and inspiring triumph.”
— USA Today (4-star review) -
“A vivid, gut-wrenching, beautifully written, memorable book.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
“The choice of Lindhout to narrate her own memoir adds enormous intimacy. She displays control of a broad emotional range, including clear, objective reporting of her torture and deprivation. Her measured pacing and effective use of tone provide immediacy and texture. This ‘can’t-stop-listening’ experience is not to be missed. Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
Awards
-
Selected for the September 2013 Indie Next List
-
A Barnes & Noble Best Book in September 2013
-
A New York Times bestseller
-
Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
-
New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books, 2013
-
An Amazon Best Book of the Month, September 2013
-
An Amazon Top 100 Book of 2013
-
A September 2013 LibraryReads Pick
A House in the Sky Listener Reviews
-
—
Monica Falcao, 10/20/2017
About the Authors
Amanda Lindhout is the founder of the Global Enrichment Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports development, aid, and education initiatives in Somalia and Kenya.
Sara Corbett is a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine. Her work has also appeared in National Geographic, Elle, Outside, O, The Oprah Magazine, Esquire, and Mother Jones.