The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State by Nadia Murad

Nadia Murad is the survivor of a genocide. She lived in a small village in Iraq called Kocho. She was born into Yazidism, a monotheistic religion spread in the oral tradition. It is a religion that you can only be born into. There are only about one million Yazidis alive in the entire world. The Islamic State captured her village, killed the men and kidnapped the women and children. Nadia and other Yazidi women were forced to become sabaya, sex slaves. She was sold and raped multiple times, by multiple men before escaping. Nadia is now a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking. She travels telling her story and demanding justice for the Yazidi genocide taking place in Iraq at the hands of terrorist.

I cannot imagine the strength it took to survive this. I cannot imagine the fear that one would experience when experiencing a genocide. This book tore me to pieces and yet I felt like I couldn’t stop reading, that if Nadia had the courage to recount her story in such painstaking detail the least I could do was finish reading. Nadia wrote this book for an ignorant audience, and I mean that in a good way. I had never even heard of Yazidism before picking up this book and I felt like Nadia did a great job explaining her religion and her culture. She took her time throughout the book detailing her life before, during and after her kidnapping. Nadia describes everything that happened to her; the fear, the abuse, the rape, the uncertainty of not knowing what happened to other family members and the loss when finally learning of all the loved ones still living in captivity, or found in a mass grave or died during an escape.

I’m recommend this book because Nadia’s story needs to be known. Seeing news reports of what’s going on in Iraq and seeing clips of terrorist’s attacks does not in anyway compare to this account of one survivor. I admire the amount of detail Nadia was willing to share. There is no way to deny the horror that she endured at the hands of human beings. This was a well written and thorough account of horrible abuse and genocide. Share it, talk about it so that one day Nadia and all those who suffered can have justice and some semblance of peace.

As someone working in the international aid relief field, this book was everything and so much more. Deeply emotional,yet deeply inspiring, Nadia's story is a must read for every woman, and every human being. You cannot help but feel compassion for her story, and admire her courage. This is a MUST read.