“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.