An incredibly moving memoir from a Harvard rape survivor turned activist!! Amanda does such an elegant job balancing a serious topic with a whimsical bit of magical realism in the sections where various versions of her past self navigate the five stages of grief. Original, groundbreaking and such a must-read for anyone angered by the way society victim shames rape survivors and makes them fight for justice with so many odds stacked against them. Great on audio and perfect for fans of books like Know my name by Chanel Miller. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is the heartbreaking memoir of Amanda and her pursuit to challenge the way sexual assault survivor’s evidence is stored and kept. The memoir starts out with her own rape at Harvard, actively processing her grief and life after while also trying to retain her rape kit as evidence. She graduates Harvard and uses her connections in Washington DC to start the process of drafting a bill. She details her activism and making of the Survivors’ Bill of Rights Act of 2016 and all it took to get it passed and turned into law.
This was a unique memoir; there are chapters where she teams up with younger versions of herself to journey through the stages of grief set in a fantasy world.
I loved learning about the legislative difficulties of getting a bill signed into a law. The hurdles she jumped through and just time it took to get it signed is actually insane. I hope writing this memoir was very healing for her, I thoroughly enjoyed listening!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the early copy of the audiobook.

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. thank u netgalley and the publisher for this arc

4+ stars

“When fairness fails us, we still have the agency to create our own justice. The change we bring is the consolation prize for our grief.”

In 2013, on the verge of graduating from Harvard, Amanda Nguyen has a promising career to look forward to when she is raped after a fraternity party. She steps out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital with 4 prescriptions, a new pair of underwear, 65 documents including a bill for $4864, and is given a cab voucher to take her back to her dorm, the scene of the crime.

To preserve her anonymity and her future employment, Amanda chooses to file her rape kit as “Jane Doe” but little does she know how this will erase her identity, and in the process, her humanity. This is just the first step in a very long battle toward healing through activism, for herself and for a country full of sexual assault victims.

The narrative uses distinct characters labeled with numbers 5, 15, 22 and 30 to form an amalgamation of Amanda - her past, present and future, and shines the light on an abusive childhood at the hands of her Vietnamese born parents. The mind numbing red tape and illogical timeline of the rape kits themselves had me white hot with anger, and cheering for Amanda at every turn as she has to choose between justice and a career she has dreamed about her entire life. With tenacious drive and some healers and helpers along the way, I spend through the story, a brief and important exposé.

Brilliantly narrated by Sura Siu, this new nonfiction packs a punch. The book releases 3/4 but stay tuned for another launch for Amanda this summer!

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and Net Galley for the early audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

Saving Five was an incredibly honest memoir about Amanda Nguyens experience after being raped in college. The title, and sections throughout the book, deal with Nguyen talking to younger versions of herself, keeping them safe and informed as best possible. Someone else described it as a "rescue mission" of her younger selves.

Ultimately, Amanda is instrumental in establishing the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights but the mountains she has to climb to get there highlight everything that is wrong with the system. Saving Five outlines her foray into activism and getting the bill passed.

The narrator was kind and really demonstrated the emotional and physical toll this book took on the author and how difficult some parts of the process were. Nguyen narrated the epilogue, which was a nice addition.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

That was a very heartfelt walk through someone’s trauma. Being a survivor as well it really hit home and even informed me of things I wasn’t aware of. Mostly due to the way my situation played out. I appreciate everything she’s done to try and improve the odds and rights of survivors. I think it will also be helpful for anyone reading it to feel the walk-through. Amanda helped us see how things spiral emotionally in the aftermath.

Thank you so much Macmillan Audio, Amanda Nguyen, and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this ARC/ALC. This book hit me straight in the gut, helping my own "Five" work through some healing, and bringing much needed advocacy to incredibly important topics. Nguyen is not only a world-changing advocate for survivors and a political force, but she is a STEM superhero and someone I'm proud to teach my 5 year old future "space-scientist who travels to the moon" daughter about. Having women in STEM to look up to is more important now than ever, but having one of those very women also be someone who fights for change and advocates for survivors rights is next level critical. There aren't enough stars in the solar system to rate this book high enough. This is a must read, a must listen, a must own. I've already recommended this to anyone who will listen, and I'll keep doing that for as long as it takes.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the Audio ARC!

It's hard to 'evaluate' something so deeply personal with any sort of objectivity. The author has dug deep into the worst day of her life and turned it into something beneficial, not only for herself, but others as well. I can't even imagine how difficult this has been for her, and all that I can say is that I hope it has been therapeutic as well. Thank you, Amanda!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio book.

Sadly, Amanda Nguyen's story of being raped in college is both devastating and too common. While the content of the story is inspiring, the structure of the storytelling--30 year old Nguyen riding in a car with her 5 year old, 15 year old, and 22 year old selves--didn't quite work for me.

I was not familiar with Amanda's story but I have a new hero now! The work she has done and continues to do is amazing for women and POC everywhere.

The book is narrated by Sura Siu. My guess is that some of this would be hard for Amanda to speak out loud herself. Sura has a pretty voice but at times, it felt more juvenile than I was expecting. Throughout the book, Amanda goes on a journey with her past self (ages 5, 15, 22 and 30) as she works through the stages of grief following the rape. While I totally understand why she chose to include this, it kept throwing me out of the story and I would've enjoyed it more without that. It definitely has a more poetic vibe to the imagery than most memoirs have. Nothing wrong with me just not my favorite. I'm sure it was cathartic for her and that's ultimately all that matters.

She has accomplished so much and been through more than most people twice her age. I think her voice is an important one. I definitely recommend checking out Saving Five. Thank you to NetGalley, Amanda Nguyen, Sura Siu, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read it. I have written this review voluntarily and honestly.

This memoir was amazing to listen to. So inspiring to see her work through her trauma, to fight for women's rights, everything. WOW i was amazed. I really like that Amanda Nguyen came on audio in the very end with her voice to address her audience. This is such a good memoir. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sharing this audio arc with me in exchange for my honest opinion.

Amanda is a Harvard graduate who put her dreams of becoming an astronaut on hold while she came up with and fought for the establishment of a sexual assault survivor’s bill of rights at the state and federal level. What she experienced while a student, but her career plans in jeopardy and the underlying trauma even impacted her performance when interviewing to become a spy for the CIA.

My thirteen-year-old daughter is currently working on an assignment for her 8th grade Civics class to come up with a bill and write a speech to defend its merits that she will need to present in front of her class’ “Mock Congress”. I think this is an important reminder that any citizen has the right to bring forth an idea to a political committee to gain sponsorship from legislators and has the potential to be an amendment and be voted on. Personally, as a child in the 80’s, I learned how a bill becomes a law from watching Schoolhouse Rock, so I’m glad to hear that a young woman had the courage, patience, and persistence to make this happen.

This memoir not only talks about all of the author’s recent efforts to defend victim’s rights, but alternates with an imagined journey of a group of girls, that are the author at various ages (5, 10, 14, 22) and how each girl is vulnerable and needs protection to achieve whatever her heart desires.

I also appreciated the mantra that is repeated throughout the book to “Never, Never, Never Give Up!”

A uniquely structured memoir by Nguyen detailing her tumultuous childhood, her SA in college and the activism that followed. It’s hard not to be touched as she had conversations with herself at different ages, battling to save her five year old selves’ hopes. I really enjoyed this one on audio, narrated by Sura Sui.

This is a beautiful and difficult story about moving on after rape. The author uses a mix of literal truth and a metaphorical experience of different versions of herself at different ages healing together

Being extraordinary was a method of survival.”

“Patriarchal conditioning built a scaffolding around our thoughts toward shame— directing them, framing them, stunting their growth.” (In the context of feeling guilty after being rape despite not being at fault.)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

((Please note that the quotes may be subject to change as I listened to the ALC via NetGalley before the publication date.))

This is a heavy book topic. I cried multiple times while listening and I hardly ever cry when reading. Her words and conviction for justice felt so genuine. I learned a lot about how to show up rape victims, but also just generally about going through trauma that alters the course of one’s life. While the topic was discussed, the author did not go into detail about her specific experience so there is no graphic descriptions of violence.

**light spoilers ahead:**

The only part of the book I didn’t love was the metaphors related to the stages of grief. It confused me as a listener because I mistook it for real scenes, especially the taxi driver scene.

I am so impressed with this author and feel inspired to revisit some of my dreams that have seemed too daunting.

4.5/5 stars

TW sexual assault

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan, Macmillan Audio, and AUWA books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Amanda’s story is one of resilience, triumph, and systemic change. Her story is one that happens far too often unfortunately. The fact that she was able to channel that to change the way our country systematically handles sexual assault is incredible. Rape kits are no longer destroyed after 6 months thanks to her hard work.

Amanda did not only stop there but went on to pass an international sexual assault survivor’s bill of rights and will soon achieve her dream of going to space.

There is also an emphasis on familial and generational trauma throughout the memoir. The “sub-plot” of the journey her younger selves endure reminded me of Inside Out.

My only “critique” is wanting to hear more of her story! I’m not sure when this manuscript was written but I would have loved to have heard more about her experience passing the U.N.’s international sexual assault survivors bill of rights and the events leading up to her soon-to-be space flight.

While the memoir is not narrated by the author, the epilogue was. It was beautifully read aloud, I really enjoyed hearing her share her story in her own words.

Overall I would definitely recommend this book!

Absolute 5 star read for me! I love the way she told her story. It was beautiful and moving, speaking to my soul in a way I didn’t expect. I thought this would just be about her story as an astronaut, but she is so much more than that. Highly recommend this! Thank you, NetGalley, for an ARC of this book!

Excellent. This memoir is brilliantly written and powerfully portrays a woman’s absolute resilience, drive, and passion for making a difference. This intensely vulnerable memoir highlights the many ways in which the American criminal justice system fails rape survivors. Fortunately, people like Amanda Nguyen have stepped up (even though they should not have ever had to), make their voices heard, and actively fight for the basic civil rights survivors should already have.

Amanda’s story is so empowering. She took terrible things that happened to her in her life and shifted the narrative by using those experiences to not only make herself a stronger, even better person, but to help others also become stronger, have their voices heard, and give them protections the system failed (and continues to fail) to provide.

Told in a captivating and almost poetic way, Saving Five held my attention from beginning to end. The only thing that keeps this from being a five star read for me is that I really wish Amanda herself had narrated the audio version. Unfortunately, I found that the narrator sounded far too juvenile, almost detracting from the story at times. I think the memoir would have been all the more powerful if Amanda had done the narration herself.

Thank you to Amanda Nguyen, Macmillan Audio, & NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

4 stars

Throughout this memoir, Amanda Nguyen makes a clear point: that this rape will not define her. Her choices after that event reflect her commitment to this declaration.

Nguyen articulates clearly that she was raped but does not provide a detailed account of the incident itself, which does distinguish her narrative from those of many peers. This may make the extraordinarily challenging central motif just slightly more readable for parts of the audience.

While this is one important event in Nguyen's life, there is so, SO much more to her, as is the case with all survivors. She's academically and professionally exceptional, had an incredibly difficult childhood (which she does talk about in some detail, so add child abuse to the TW list along with the obvious), and she is a generally driven individual. The latter comes through most obviously in the way she processes her retraumatization and further victimization through what happens with her rape kit. When she realizes the ridiculous hurdles she'll face in this arena, she doesn't give up. Instead, she begins lobbying. While Nguyen effectively shows her determination and the realities of a patriarchal system that devalues survivors of rape and sexual assault, this is also the area in which the narrative loses a little steam and the pacing feels a bit off.

Overall, this is a harrowing tale of hope, as the cover promises, of how a person can respond to the worst and take care of others and themselves (at all ages).

I loved listening to Amanda's story and I'm very thankful she is sharing it with the world. The method in which she tells her story and weaves in memories and narratives from her childhood incorporated with her journey with grief was artful and incredibly impacting. I don't think I've ever cried so hard at a book.