Saving Five by Amanda Nguyen is a deeply moving and courageous memoir that captures the raw pain of trauma while highlighting the extraordinary power of resilience and activism. Nguyen’s story, shaped by her tumultuous childhood, her dream of working for NASA, and the harrowing aftermath of her assault at Harvard, is told with searing honesty and remarkable grace. The book’s most striking aspect is Nguyen’s unwavering determination to create systemic change, culminating in the creation of the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights. Her ability to channel personal grief into groundbreaking advocacy makes this memoir both an intimate journey of healing and a powerful call to action. While some sections could delve deeper into her emotional interiority, Saving Five is an inspiring testament to the transformative power of hope and activism.

Incredible read. I finished in one sitting. It made me cry, I could feel my shoulders and breath stop, I also felt so damn inspired. She’s an incredible human and I’m so glad she’s sharing her story. Major content warnings around rape, childhood abuse.

This was a difficult read but a very important one. Amanda's story is one I'd heard about in the news, but reading in her own words was very powerful. I enjoyed the format of the book, instead of just a linear format like other memoirs. Often I was very angry at the systems she fought in her own rape case, but in the end I felt hope for her future. I'm looking forward to reading more from her!

I enjoyed learning about how bills are passed. This memoir was very heartbreaking while also being hopeful. I liked the idea of facing the stages of grief with different ages of yourself. This book was well written and easy to read. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Saving Five by @amandangocnguyen
Thank you, Amanda, for courageously sharing your story and being a voice for so many. Generations will continue to be proud of you, just as we are today. You inspire others and pave the way for women everywhere. Sharing your journey through different versions of yourself is both powerful and moving.

Add this to your reading list—out March 2025!

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for allowing me an e-ARC copy of Saving Five by Amanda Nguyen in exchange for an honest review.

This book is hard and hopeful. It is infuriating and informative. It is sad and strengthening. Amanda had already gone through so much in her life before she was assaulted. She participated in different groups, got excellent grades, was involved with NASA, and moved across the country by herself. Those are big things to be already processing at that age. Amanda also grew up in an unstable household with inconsistent parents. This fostered a breeding ground of trauma and abuse. Her assault, like all rapes, was senseless. What she went through after was negligent, selfish, unkind, and disappointing. The absolute lack of regard from the government was, frankly, disgusting. No survivor should have to desperately seek information about their case and make decisions before they are ready. Amanda set out to change that.

Amanda is the reason why rape kits legally have to be held until 20 years or the maximum statute of limitations, whichever is shorter. Her Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights included other benefits such as access to information about your kit, the right to free advocacy, timely notification of the assailant's location, the right to fair and equal treatment, and so much more. She got it passed federally and then again under the UN. The fact that she went on to continue her work with NASA and become an astronaut is so completely badass.

This book weaves the timeline of her assault with a dreamscape of her past selves working toward healing. I enjoyed reading these scenarios and talking about them during a session with my therapist. Thank you, Amanda - for sharing your story, for fighting for survivors, and for reminding us that the different stages of "us" all deserve space to be heard.

I often give memoirs 5 stars out of respect for the author for opening up and being as vulnerable as possible in sharing their story in words. Saving Fire is no exception; Nguyen is incredibly open and honest in telling her story, and her storytelling style is unique and incredibly moving.

The way Saving Fire is written mixes the typical, chronological order of events with the occasional chapter telling a story of the different versions of herself meeting in time to take on a quest. Thirty-year-old, present-day Amanda meets versions of herself throughout different times in her life and must go through different time periods in order to save her five-year-old self.

I truly believe that everyone should read this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an ARC of this incredible memoir! It is being published in March of 2025.

I first want to say that I feel odd writing a review of someones life story. Given that, when I say this is a 5 star read, I say so because of how Amanda conveys her story through words. It doesn't feel right to rate someones story. With that out of the way, here are my thoughts.

I love the way Amanda wrote her story. I really liked how she conveyed healing through having to save her five year old self as they travel through the stages of grief alongside 15 and 22. Amanda's memoir is very honest about how she struggled after her assault. She was forced to choose between her career and justice. She fought to change a system that was built to defeat survivors (and won!).

Overall, Saving Five is a phenomenal, honest, and hopeful memoir that shows how the justice system in America is stacked against assault survivors.

Saving Five: a memoir of hope is emotional, enraging, powerful, heartbreaking and Inspiring. Saving Five is a brutally honest memoir that highlights the lack of care and protection that victims of rape and their evidence are treated with in the U.S. and one woman’s journey (alongside many other survivors and advocates) to change the system. It sheds light on the ways that our government has failed to protect survivors. After finding out that her rape evidence kit would be destroyed after six months, Amanda fought to extend her evidence kit’s longevity for another six months. She embarks on a transformation of herself and the law, turning her trauma into a foundation for national change.

Thank you Amanda Nguyen for writing this important book, sharing your story and inspiring survivors & advocates to continue to fight and speak up for survivor's rights.

[ARC review]
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

PUBLISH DATE: MARCH 04, 2025

Synopsis: At a Harvard fraternity party in 2013, the trajectory of Amanda Nguyen’s life was changed forever when she was raped. Nguyen had long dreamed of attending Harvard and working for either the CIA or NASA after graduation. However, all her aspirations were put on pause when she came to understand that she had only six months to take action before the state of Massachusetts destroyed her rape kit, rendering any future legal action impossible. Nguyen knew then that she had to surrender to a law that effectively silenced survivors of sexual assault, or fight for a change.

I was left in shock after reading Chanel Miller's memoir, Know My Name, so immediately after reading this memoir's synopsis, I requested this book from NetGalley.

Amanda Nguyen exposes SO much in this memoir - her difficult upbringing, her goals and aspirations, the night she was raped, and how the disgusting act pretty much ruined the rest of her life. On top of all that, she also shares her inner demons that continued to follow her throughout her life - which was beautifully, seamlessly interwoven into the memoir.

However, following the read, I was left quite sad and hopeless (although the story claims to be a memoir of hope). Nguyen consistently shares her HUGE aspirations - landing a job in the CIA or in NASA - but, nothing actually pans out.

This is an extremely important read as it shows that a seemingly small, minuscule law - rape kits getting thrown away after just 6 months - can strongly affect victims. And, there aren't many outspoken, strong-willed individuals willing to stand up for such laws.

Ooooo the emotions!!! This book will make you angry. Not at the author, but at the laws!! The author is beyond amazing for her strides in getting laws changed. Her story is so heartbreaking, but it fueled her to get things changed!!!

very innovatingly told. one part is a classic memoir about the incident and her work to get laws passed that would prevent it. the other is a fantasy story about handling grief. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

I feel like my English is not good enough to describe a book like this one. Inspiring, heartbreaking, chilling story of so many emotions cased by horrible violation and ultimate victory of a survival. Amanda Nguyen is excellent example how there is hope and how truly strong and smart women are always inspiration and role models. Thank you for sharing your story with us.

Powerful, painful, empowering, and deeply emotional. I am grateful for her strength and the work she has done since those horrible events. An intense and important read.

“Someone … once gave me
a box full of darkness.
It took me years to understand
that this, too, was a gift”
- Mary Oliver

In Saving Five: A Memoir of Hope, Amanda Nguyen transforms her box full of darkness into a gift of justice for millions of women.

“The first time I walked into the rape crisis center, there weren’t enough seats in the waiting room”

After finding out that her rape evidence kit would be destroyed after six months, Amanda fought to extend her evidence kit’s longevity for another six months. Realizing that this battle would be never-ending, she embarks on a transformation of herself and the law, turning her trauma into a foundation for national change.

Amanda takes the reader with her on two concurrent paths: The first, her odyssey through the stages of grief to heal her present self and her inner selves at pivotal ages in her life. These personified aspects travel together to make sense of the horror they’ve faced, from denial towards acceptance.

The second path, a rigorous uphill trek through legislative hell to pass the Survivors’ Bill of Rights, would be Amanda’s battle cry. This bill would protect the civil rights of an estimated 25 million women and would establish the right to preserve evidence kits through the term of a case’s statute of limitations, to be notified of a kit’s destruction, and to be informed regarding forensic exam results.

Saving Five: A Memoir of Hope is a deeply moving, painfully raw testimony of a survivor and a warrior. It is an important and powerful book; one I think everyone should read.

My sincerest thanks to NetGalley, ‘Farrar, Straus and Giroux’, and Amanda Nguyen for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Saving Five: A Memoir of Hope will be published on March 4, 2025.

Amanda Nguyen’s memoir is essential reading. Her storytelling approach is brave, creative, and effective. Saving Five will anger you, educate you, and instill you with hope. In 2021, I had the privilege of hearing Nguyen speak at an event hosted by my workplace, and it was an honor to have the opportunity to read an advance copy of her upcoming 2025 memoir.

Nothing I can say will fully capture how amazing Amanda Nguyen's powerful and inspiring memoir about finding hope after utter devastation was. The way Nguyen tells her story is creative and vulnerable, alternating between her story in "reality" and her grief journey in the "Realm of Memory." Her wonderful writing reflects that grief is worth feeling and it is always worth it to not give up and fight, whatever that looks like for you. If you relate to Nguyen's story or you don't, her messages are important and I really encourage anyone and everyone to read this.

Saving Five is a brutally honest memoir that highlights the lack of care and protection that rape victims and their evidence are treated with in the U.S. and one woman’s journey (alongside many other survivors and advocates) to change the system.

What is truly unique about this book is the way that Amanda Nguyen structured the story. Her story is told through alternating chapters. Some chapters are laid out like a classic memoir; they follow a chronological timeline of the rape, the painstaking process to save her rape kit from destruction every six months, and the uphill battle with the Capitol to pass a bill that would provide guaranteed protection of survivors’ rights.
The other chapters veer away from the standard memoir; they are a journey through grief, told in a fantasy format. Present day Amanda (30) meets younger versions of herself from different key points in her life. But the youngest version, 5, becomes dangerously ill, and the different versions of Amanda must travel through the realms of grief together in order to save 5.

This book is heartbreaking and often enraging. But it is also filled with hope. It sheds light on the ways that our government has failed to protect survivors and it challenges the idea that if a survivor does everything “right”, they will have justice. This book will not only resonate with thousands of survivors, but hopefully it will inspire them and fellow advocates to continue speaking up for survivors’ rights.

I am very honored to have been able to read and review an advanced e-copy of Saving Five. I strongly encourage everyone to add this to your reading list. Please check trigger warnings beforehand as this book covers topics including, but not limited to, rape and childhood abuse.

*Thank you to Amanda Nguyen, AUWA, and NetGalley for providing me with a free digital ARC in exchange for honest review.*

This was a tough read. I don’t feel comfortable giving an actual review given the nature of the book, but I will say that I thank Amanda for being so brave and fighting for all survivors. Even though this book is hard to read based on the material, I urge people to read it (when they are in a good mental place!). It’s shocking how hard it is to navigate the legal and justice system as a survivor. Extremely illuminating!

Ebook received for free through NetGalley.

An awe-inspiring gut-wrenching and oh so hopeful read. I came across Amanda through Instagram after the blue origin flight was announced through another account. I’m so glad I heard about this book and was able to read it. Thank you.