Saving Five was an excellent read. The writing was propulsive and very detailed. I would read more from this author.

I think this is the best memoir I've ever read. Not only was Amanda incredibly vulnerable and brave for sharing her story, she framed it within this beautiful narrative of parenting herself at different ages. And the policy recommendations just took this to another level.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for gifted access to this audiobook. All opinions below are my own.

"Pawns become queens when pushed to the edge of the board. We can become powerful when we are pushed far enough and have had enough."

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"We were all someone before we were hurt and that person still lives inside you."

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This is a great companion read to Chanel Miller's story. Amanda tackles being a rape survivor by redfining the purpose of her life. She gives up her CIA dreams and dreams of joining NASA to pursue legislation to support and protect rape survivors. She gives us the stark truth of her attack and the aftermath from the rape kit to the police to facing people in her life again with this new identity as a victim. Alternating chapters discuss the path of grief for a "victim" and uses this beautiful analogy of versions of herself at different ages. She also tells us about the violence she and her mother experienced from her father and how often victims are indoctronated not to stand up. But the most impactful part was her discussing how little the system does to protect women and how much she sacrificed to get Amanda's law passed.

This is a really powerful read. What an amazing woman who blazed a path to protect others even though it was not the life she dreamed of. And even after all of that she found a way to space after all... a dream of mine as well so I identify with her in more ways than one!

This was an amazing story of one woman who believed in change. She used her strengths in pushing for a federal law for sexual assault survivors, no matter the odds. I would have loved to have heard more about her becoming an astronaut, maybe her waiting to publish this until she goes on her space launch?
I truly enjoyed her sharing her story and the intricacies of politics and getting a (even bi-partisan) bill passed.
The narrator was great but did not sound invested or emotional. When Amanda spoke the authors note, I realized her own reading would have made the audiobook more personal and meaningful for me.

Determined to heal herself at various ages following her rape at Harvard, the author shares a story of focused resilience to change laws, continue on to her dream career path, and never give up hope.

This was such a powerful memoir! It was difficult to read at times, but as a survivor, I admire Amanda's bravery in telling her story. I was surprised there was so much I didn't know about some of our existing laws and what the process is like getting a law passed. I highly recommend everyone read this memoir!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Amanda’s journey toward justice and its parallel to her grieving process was a story I really needed in this particular moment in time. Amanda is brave and I applaud her ability to share her story, persist in the face of so much adversity, and work toward changing oppressive systems. I also learned more about the legislative process and the barriers and posturing that prevent real progress from being made, than I knew prior. However, I found it difficult to settle into the audiobook. In some ways, I think the use of the grief allegory was distracting (the different versions of herself struggling through aspects of grief), and while other aspects - the stories from her family and past - were raw and interesting, it wasn’t always very clear about how this connected back to her core narrative of seeking justice and healing from the events of her 20s. While I enjoyed this, I wish it were more cohesive so that I could have felt a bit more of what I think I was supposed to feel. I also just kept comparing it to Miller’s “Know My Name” and Foo’s “What My Bones Know,” which were excellent, but the connections left me wishing this book was able to more impactfully touch on those overlapping topics.

Did you know there is a federal law in the US called Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights? Did you know one in six women will be the victim of sexual assault? I did not. As a 34 year old, American, female I can see that I’m really lucky to not have become a statistic or have had need of a survivor’s bill of rights. Saving Five: A Memoir of Hope was a Macmillan Audio pick, and this book chronicles the rape of Amanda Nguyen and her subsequent activism that got this bill passed—a 1% chance (and also the rate of rape conviction).

This book taught me so much I truly feel overwhelmed to not have known. It also taught me so much about how our government actually works behind the scenes when trying to pass a law, usually a process that takes five to 10 years—and again with a success rate of 1%!

This book was also an imaginative narrative nonfiction that portrayed Amanda’s journey through the stages of grief at age 30 with that of her past selves at ages five, 15, and 22. Amanda documents not only her rape, using the word frequently and unflinchingly in what I felt like was a way to strip the shame of the word for survivors, but also her childhood abuse at the hands of her parents. As a victim and survivor, Amanda puts herself first by not naming her rapist and not detailing her rape with specifics that would only serve to feed consumer voyeurism in this day of true crime addiction that often leaves criminals as the ones remembered and the victims taking a backseat in their own stories.

In the end, Amanda’s story and message is that of hope and determination. Her dreams of working for NASA, or even the CIA, were derailed while she, with her group RISE, fought for the rights of victims, not only those in the US, but around the world, having also helped pass the Universal Survivor Bill of Rights by the UN General Assembly. But, her dream of reaching the stars will be achieved this year when she flies into space with Blue Origin and becomes the first East Asian Woman to do so.

This book is a must read and five stars. I also believe it’s a banned book, so get reading!

Thank you to Macmillan audio and the author for a free advanced listener copy of this book.

This book may be short, but it’s packs a powerful message in each page. I have been following Amanda Nguyen and her story for a little bit, so I’m so grateful to be able to listen to this book. This was a real, vulnerable, hopeful memoir. The story telling of finding her younger selves made added an element of story telling that really helped you understand the emotional process she had to go through. I would recommend this is everyone.

The title of Saving Five is a reference to making you five year old self proud. It's a beautiful idea, and this memoir weaves Amanda Nguyen's experiences with a narrative navigating through the process of coping with trauma alongside her past selves, unpacking and accepting that trauma along the way. This is a story about anger, rape, and perseverance. Not once does it make this story (HER story) about her attacker. It is a powerful story though be forewarned the level of detail regarding the aftermath of rape, the clinical detachment, the judgement, is all very heavily on the page, and while very inspiring some survivors may find the content all too relatable. I applaud all Nguyen has accomplished so far in her life, and the epilogue, which she reads herself in the audiobook version was especially powerful.
Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Farrar, Straus, & Giroux for this ARC!

Amanda Nguyen is a hero. I have admired her advocacy for a while now and her memoir is just as powerful. Around chapter 3, the impact of what the title means hit me and whew, I’m just so blown away by the structure and beauty of this book. I pre-ordered a copy to support her and I appreciate FSG/macmillan Audio for the gifted e-galley and audiobook. The narration is excellent in tone, pacing and performance.

Amanda Nguyen’s Saving Five is a powerful and deeply personal account that sheds light on the lasting impact of sexual assault. With unflinching honesty and emotional depth, Nguyen bravely shares her story, offering readers a raw and intimate look into the psychological and emotional aftermath of trauma.

What sets this book apart is Nguyen’s ability to articulate not just the pain and challenges survivors face, but also the resilience and strength required to move forward. Her storytelling is both compelling and insightful, providing a perspective that is often overlooked. Through her words, readers gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of healing, the battles fought beyond the initial trauma, and the courage it takes to reclaim one’s voice.

Saving Five is not just a memoir—it is an important and necessary read that fosters awareness, empathy, and hope. Nguyen’s bravery in sharing her experience makes this book a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the survivor’s journey.

WOW. What an INCREDIBLE memoir! Amanda Nguyen’ is a force of nature and it was such an honor to hear her story! She wrote this story with beauty, imagination, hope, and the raw and honest truth about her healing journey. To go through such a horrific assault, and then to go on to make her voice heard, fight for justice, and change the law so that survivors of sexual assault won’t also be violed by the law was so inspiring to watch. And to hear that she’s also going to become the first Vietnamese woman in space? Beyond incredible! I loved this book and the audiobook narration was excellent!

A heartbreaking memoir about the aftermath and red tape after a rape. Amanda was raped at a Harvard fraternity party in 2013. In Massachusetts, the rape kit is destroyed after six months, even though a victim has 15 years to move forward with a lawsuit. As an activist, Amanda has helped pass the Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights, hopefully to help those in the future. While her feelings were written on the paper, the largest part was the legal system and other red tape. I loved the parts where Amanda talked to herself at ages 5, 15, 22 and 30 as they go through major shifts in her life. I could see that part coming alive in front of me. This was a heartbreaking story of grief, fighting back and hope.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, AUWA Books, and Netgalley for providing this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review.
As a political science girl, seeing the process of creating the bill and trying ti get it passed was very interesting and insightful.
Especially impactful were the fictitious sections of her four selves talking and going through the stages of grief. It was very emotionally striking. The narration was also great and really helped paint the picture.
In general, despite the pros, I feel like the book didn't really hook me, especially in the beginning.
This is a great book for anyone who is a survivor of any sort of trauma. I can imagine if you're not healed that it might be a very tough read.
3.5/5

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

Memoir with a very important story, I would highly recommend this book.

Look, the rating is for the writing and not for the message, okay? There is no denying that Amanda Nguyen has been far braver and more resilient than 99.9% of us. Her achievements as an activist and her budding career as an astronaut elevate her into role model status.

SAVING FIVE (the meaning of which I still don’t entirely get) essentially consists of two story threads. The first follows Amanda’s journey from a few hours before the rape to several years after the rape. (Fortunately there are no details of the actual rape itself, for those of you who were waiting for CWs before deciding whether or not to read this.) I felt that this memoir was most powerful towards the end, when Nguyen showed how infuriating the process of getting justice for rape survivors is, with scheming Congressmen conspiring to tank or ransom the bill until it can be used for their own political gain, and different levels of police enforcement refusing to take responsibility for keeping track of her rape kit’s whereabouts and communicating empathetically.

The second thread has a more fable-like feel, with 30-year-old Amanda (her age at the time of writing, I’m guessing) meeting up with versions of her younger selves (Five, Fifteen, and Twenty-Two) and embarking on a journey through a hostile, many-terrained realm to find the gatekeepers of the five stages of grief. While this was a creative way of writing about the process of healing, it didn’t quite work for me. The allegorical tale had a very twee tone, leaned quite heavily into dramatic elements, and I’m not sure what lesson I was supposed to have taken away when I reached the end of it.

Indeed, the writing is this memoir’s greatest weakness, and the reason why I can’t give it more than three stars. Much of the dialogue (the ones that are not transcribed from actual records) was very obviously made up, and it felt very clunky and artificial. The pacing was also uneven: Nguyen has a tendency to linger in moments that do not really need lingering (see: many of the places where the dialogue was made up), while suddenly jumping forward months and years at a time. The timeline of SAVING FIVE is more or less structured around the deadline of the destruction of her rape kit, which was postponed in six-month increments, and only after a lot of stress and hard work on her part to request a postponement of destruction. This made for a dramatic narrative device, but I would have liked to have heard more from Nguyen in the in-between months as well.

Audiobook narrator Sura Siu did the best with the material she was given, and I can’t fault her for that. She even managed the impressive task of giving each version of Amanda a slightly different voice so that they could be differentiated in the listening.

Overall, SAVING FIVE is no Know My Name, but it is a serviceable memoir more along the lines of Qian Julie Wang’s Beautiful Country and Eddie Ndopu’s Sipping Dom Perignon Through a Straw. It is certainly an inspirational read if you look up to Nguyen as a role model.

I loved the unique framing of this memoir. It’s engaging and empowering. The entire thing is so well-written, and Nguyen’s story is inspirational. It was heart-rending to read about what she went through, but the way she went on to not only fight for justice for herself, but to seek to change the unjust system for all victims is incredible. I will definitely be recommending this one.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating memoirs is tricky. This is undoubtedly an inspiring story. Amanda Nguyen was sexually assaulted during her senior year at Harvard and then let down by the criminal justice system. Instead of accepting that, she fought for the rights of survivors and ultimately got the Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act passed unanimously through Congress. Oh, and she also became an astronaut!

It’s a remarkable story, and one that I’m happy the author was willing to share with the world, but I struggled to connect with the book. To be clear, Nguyen is under no obligation to share more detail about her story than she did, but if I’m going to read an entire memoir, I expect to feel like I know the author more by the end of it, and I feel like she barely scratched the surface here. It’s short, and a lot of it is spent in this imaginary journey through the stages of grief that she is going on with her past selves (hence the title, Saving Five). It’s an interesting concept, but the execution didn’t work for me, and left me feeling like we got very little of her actual story. I was excited to hear more about her experience as an astronaut, but we didn’t even hear about that until the epilogue. It’s impossible not to compare this to Chanel Miller’s KNOW MY NAME, but sadly this doesn’t hold a candle to that one.

I am sure a lot of readers will pick this up and be impacted in a positive way, but for an avid memoir reader like me, it was middle of the road. Go read KNOW MY NAME if you haven’t yet!

Brutally honest, heartbreaking, and so very important. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this audiobook arc.