(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Sexual abuse, human trafficking, drug addiction, rape, prison, and domestic violence—Barbara Amaya experienced it all on first on the streets of Washington DC and then New York City, most of it before her sixteenth birthday. In Nobody’s Girl she shares her journey from trafficking victim to human rights advocate, weaving together a story of loss, pain, courage, and transformation.

That was a difficult book to read. So much emotion, so many feelings for this young girl (now woman) who lived a terrible life with abusive and alcoholic family members and was forced to runaway at 12 years of age and became a prostitute and got hooked on drugs from the age of 13.

Even the second part of the book, Barbara's recovery from addiction after getting away from that life on the streets, was just as harrowing. The pain of recovery and all those things that she never had to learn to do - simple household tasks like ironing and cleaning - or even the fact that she didn't celebrate special occasions like birthdays or Christmas.

As a parent of two kids, this book broke my heart numerous times over. I applaud the author for telling her story in such a matter-of-fact way, not sugar-coating the tough stuff, and for being such an advocate now for anti-human trafficking. The book also provides valuable resources for those in the US.


Paul
ARH

Hard to describe your feelings for a book like this, you can't really say you enjoyed the book as the circumstances of it isn't really relative. However, the book was very well written and kept me turning the pages to find out what happens next.

Fabulous read. Her story is unbelievable yet we know it happens every day, every where. From teenage prostitution to receiving awards and many achievements. This book makes you want to help, want to change laws and stop the torture of victims everywhere

So sad, the format of this book wouldn't work on any of my devices! sorry! I really think I would have loved this book!

Given to me by @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It's a true story, a memoir about a difficult childhood spent on the streets of NY , prostituting . A sad story of an exploited child, a thirteen year old Barbara Amaya, who seeks redemption as a grown up. After all she's been through ... this woman is a survivor! A brave , courageous, woman! Her decision to help others, in the battle against human trafficking ... leaves us a very powerful message: "NEVER GIVE UP AND FIGHT TILL THE END!".

This book was so sad. Barbara relives a time when she was sexually abused by her father. It
started at a young age and she was unsure why or what to do about it. She attempted to tell
her mother the only way she knew how but her mother misunderstood took action in the wrong way
getting her teacher fired. As the book continues it finds Barbara's life turning upside down.
I enjoyed the way that the author didn't try to sugar coat the things that she went through,
but at the same time you could tell that she wasn't over selling her experiences as well. It
was just her telling things as they happened. She had a hard life and at times it was very
hard to read just because I can't imagine someone going through what she did. When she
can't take it anymore she runs away and gets forced into prostitution. As a memoir goes
this was really good it takes the reader into her story without going overboard on things
that aren't important. It showed how quickly she got stuck into the ring and how difficult
it was for her. When the one person she trusted most betrayed her more so than anyone else
ever had. It also moved along quickly and I didn't feel that it was overly repetitive. The first
half of the book was all about her experiences while the second half talks about her long
road back. I enjoyed this book it showed both sides of what happened and it showed how she
survived after she got back it wasn't just a simple she's home and she's alright. It showed
what happened and didn't just stop there like most novels of this kind do. I really enjoyed
this book a lot more than I expected and that says a lot because I had high hopes. If you are
into memoirs then this is one that needs to be read.

A book on a very important topic. Barbara Amaya tells the reader her experiences as a girl that was sexually abused and later on trafficked. She now sees herself as a victim and advocates to help others in the same situation. An inspiring and important book!

[Note:  This book was provided free of charge by Net Gallery/Animal Media Group.]

There was very little in this book that surprised me.  To be sure, the story is a heartrending one, but it is also one that has a clear genre and familiar path.  I've heard this story before, and likely many people who read this story have as well [1].  The fact that this story sounds very familiar though, does not mean it is not a worthwhile story, because the author wishes to relate to people who like her were abused as children, caught up in sex trafficking by people who told them lies while seeking to manipulate and control them, and then isolated from the rest of "square" society to the point where they used drugs to cope with the horrors and trauma of their lives.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, the author used her own past as encouragement in helping to reach out to others who suffer as she has suffered, realizing that the purpose and meaning of her experiences is into helping others avoid and overcome the same sort of problems that she did, a not uncommon but also positive realization.

In terms of its organization, this book is written in a straightforward and chronological fashion.  With short numbered chapters, the author discusses her abuse by her father and brother, her increasing anxiety about going to school, her resorting to running away over and over again, and being caught up in a world of prostitution and drug use and numerous scrapes with the law as a result of her attachment to her pimp Moses.  A long effort at sobriety follows where the author still finds herself drawn to precisely the wrong type of man.  She ends up hospitalized after a relationship with one abusive man and has a daughter in a marriage with an alcoholic who she leaves, becoming a single mother with a lot of health struggles.  It is not until she is middle aged, it would appear, that the author realizes that her child experiences had a name in sex trafficking and that the problem was still a pervasive one, and she is motivated by her experience to become a crusader on behalf of the well-being of vulnerable and exploited children.  By the story's end her own record and conscience are clear, and the reader is left with resources as well as a lot to ponder about the processes that lead to trafficking and the way that children are exploited.

Ultimately, as a reader, I am left with a lot of puzzling thoughts and reflections after this book.  Was the author ever able to find a loving relationship as an adult, or was her experience simply too difficult for her to overcome when it comes to building intimacy?  Did the author ever come to terms with God and develop a personal relationship with Him?  Was her daughter able to break the generational cycles of divorce and alcoholism/drug abuse and abuse that the author faced herself in her own life and in her family background?  What makes this book particularly worthwhile, despite these unanswered questions, is that it helps to reveal a pathway to abuse.  A great deal of the societal evils we face with regards to drug abuse and prostitution and the like can be traced back to trouble in youth.  Broken societies and broken families produce broken people.  It is hard to fix broken systems, but it is a lot easier to fix them than it is to fix broken people whose brokenness extends generation after generation.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018/01/02/book-review-not-my-story-to-tell/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017/05/15/book-review-the-lies-that-bind/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016/12/29/book-review-the-lost-children-of-wilder/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016/12/13/book-review-agapes-children/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016/08/20/book-review-the-glass-castle/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016/07/11/book-review-like-family/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015/10/07/book-review-struggle-for-intimacy/

If you ever wondered how someone becomes a victim of sex trafficking, this book gives an honest, gut-wrenching account of how easily it can happen. Raw, heartbreaking, but ultimately uplifting, this memoir is a must read.

I wish I could say I was moved by this story but I wasn't.

Thank you to Netgalley, for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

This book was very short and an "easy" read - the chapters weren't long and it felt like someone was telling me a story, though I wouldn't say the subject matter wasn't easy. However, it's not that I wanted more... but it felt very matter of fact. The author shared bits about her life but jumped around very quickly, and didn't linger on much - it made it hard to really understand much of what she went through. I guess I just feel like this book could've been a bit longer and spent more time on the little she shared. 3.5 stars.

This was a very hard book to read. The book is very clear on what some of what lies within. The back cover did not warn of child sexual abuse through the form on incest or a suicide attempt through pills. One of those is a trigger for me. I have already been incredibly emotional the past few days. It really hit me hard. I wanted to give that warning to other readers, not to warn them away but so they can prepare themselves. This is a very important story that needs to be told and read. Barbara Amaya is incredible strong and resilient. She is, for lack of a better word and despite my hatred of being called this, an inspiration. She is changing lives. She refers to herself as a victim, but I disagree. She is not a victim, she is a survivor and a thriver. This distinction is very powerful to me. She was able to overcome her abuse and has made a life for herself that is very successful. She is helping others the way she needed to be helped. She is important and badass.

The book reads very simply. There aren't details that are shocking for shock sake. The book feels raw and bare-boned. There is no other way I would want this book to be. Amaya tells her story the way she wanted to, not for an audience. The story is so deeply personal and horrifying that anything more would have read as flowery and fake, it would have read less powerfully.

I work in the legal world. I worked prosecution, then the jail, and now defense. I have worked towards putting felons behind bars, detaining defendants while they went through the legal process, and I now work in defending clients. I saw a human trafficking case from all three sides. I saw every little detail of the case. This book still hit me in a way that was impressive and important. I have already sent an email out to my coworkers asking them to read this book. This book will help shape the way they help defend other victims of sex trafficking who are being charged either with prostitution or with human trafficking because of the role they were forced to play. 

If you work with women in any capacity, you need to read this book. If you live in the mid-west (Kansas is the human trafficking capital of the US), then you need to read this book. If you are experiencing human trafficking or you are afraid that you are, you are not alone. Reach out if you can. Find the local public defender's office. They can help you find resources, find the local homeless shelter, find the local battered women shelter, there are places where you can go that will help. If you already have an active case, tell your attorney.

A note to the author: Thank you. You have helped people already and I can only hope that you can help more. You are not alone in this fight. You are someone I look up to now. Your strength, your courage, your resilience, your desire to help others even when it is painful. I can't thank you enough for what you have done.

Nobody's Girl by Barbara Amaya

This is the story of how child abuse by family members led to a 12 year old runaway being indoctrinated into the world of trafficking and drugs. The story is not a new one, it is something that can happen to any child male or female in any country on any day of the week. So many missed opportunities by the author and authorities that could have prevented the horrific events that were suffered. The book seems to jump through the years leaving gaps which seem to hurt the storyline. I saw many reviews saying that this book should be required reading. To me the most beneficial part of the the book is the acknowledgment at the end. It pares down the facts and methods of preventions that are what should be known by every parent, teacher, law enforcement and social service agency in the world to help prevent the spread of this destructive abuse. Those facts should be make into a handout that is given to all teachers from grade school on, so they know what to look for and how to help. This book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

A revealing, terrifying narrative about how a young girl's abuse at home leads her into the dark world of human trafficking, prostitution and drug addiction. Barbara Amaya's honest chronicling of her life is accomplished so artfully, that despite the book's gratuitous nature, none of her powerful story is stifled. Bravery is not a strong enough word for what this woman lived and survived. The amazing turn around to what her life is now and the strength and wisdom she shares with others suffering similarly is unbelievable. One of the most powerful books I've read this year.

I was unable to download this book which is terrible because I was really looking forward to reading this book.

Courageous and heartbreaking . Beautiful story which left me full of empowerment.

This was a super hard book to read, the kind you have to read in chunks because the tears in your eyes won't let you read it all at once. I found a strength in Amaya that I haven't found in myself yet--it's one thing to heal after something, but quite another to find the strength to help others heal. All I can really say, even knowing that my words don't do justice to my feelings, is that I am so very proud of Barbara.

Sex Trafficking is a horrible reality--but if you are even looking at this book and the following reviews of it you probably already know that. Reading this book will remind you of that, place the realities right in your face and give voice to the many men, women and children that are being passed around the world by their traffickers.

Barbara Amaya is brave, not only has she broken through the conditioning of her trafficker to speak out for an end but because she has continued to learn what it looks like to walk in freedom from slavery.

This book will break your heart. Through portions of reading it I wanted to stop because everything felt hopeless. I remember talking with one of my friends last night about how she just didn't seem to be getting freedom from "the life"--that it felt like it was going to haunt her through the rest of her life--affecting her ability to have relationships with other people. her ability to hold employment and her ability to see herself as more than something that needed to work "the track".

I'm glad that I didn't stop, because Barbara does move forward, there is hope. And she is working to end sexual slavery by bringing the realities to the light and advocating for change.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Nobody's Girl is an autobiography of Barbara Amaya's struggles, her courage in overcoming everything she endured and ultimately becoming a voice against human trafficking.

In the first half of her story, she takes us through her first memories of sexual abuse at the hands of her father and older brother, how her mother turned a blind eye and didn't believe her when she went to her for help and how she eventually ran away from home for the first time at the age of 12. She describes how this led her to the world of human trafficking, prostitution, abuse and drug addiction. She would eventually grow up on the streets and fall victim to the tactics of a pimp who manipulated her into believing he was the only one who really cared about her.

In the second half of her story, we journey with her through the struggles to free herself of drug addiction, break away from the mental, emotional & physical hold of her pimp and how she fought to gain control of her life. This wasn't an easy task at all. It was a very slow process but through perseverance and a desire to help others, she was able to overcome. Barbara is now an anti-human trafficking advocate and activist.

At the end of the book, she has included valuable resources for everyone - from law enforcement, to medical personnel, teachers, parents and even young men and women. In this section you will find things such as what to look for if you suspect someone is a victim of human trafficking as well as phone numbers to organizations that can help.

This story brings awareness about a subject matter many don't feel comfortable talking about but its something that must be addressed in order to save more lives.I don't feel in any way the author was seeking pity or being accusing. She is simply telling her story in hopes that other stories like hers may be prevented. This memoir will encourage others to overcome just as she did. Barbara tells her story in an almost disconnected or detached tone. This helps me to identify with how she was feeling while she was going through those times in her life. She describes it like this: "My heart would beat faster and faster, and I would float out of my body until I found myself watching everything from a corner up on the ceiling. Later, when it was over and I had come back to my body, I would float away again each time I tried to remember what had happened."

I highly recommend this book, especially to young people and to their parents.