The Dawn Prayer
A Memoir
by Matthew Schrier
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Pub Date Apr 03 2018 | Archive Date May 09 2018
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Description
"Matthew," I said. I had stopped saying Matt a while ago because it means ‘dead' in Arabic.
On New Year's Eve in 2012, Matthew Schrier was headed home from Syria, where he'd been photographing the intense combat of the country's civil war. Just 45 minutes from the safety of the Turkish border, he was taken prisoner by the al Nusra Front—an organization the world would come to know as the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda.
Over the next seven months he would endure torture and near starvation in six brutal terrorist prisons. He'd face a daily struggle just to survive. And, eventually, he'd escape.
In this gripping, raw, and surprisingly funny memoir, Schrier details the horrifying and frequently surreal experience of being a slight, wisecracking Jewish guy held captive by the world's most violent Islamic extremists. Managing to keep his heritage a secret, Schrier used humor to develop relationships with his captors—and to keep himself sane during the long months of captivity.
The Dawn Prayer (Or How to Survive in a Secret Syrian Terrorist Prison): A Memoir is a tale of patriotism and unimaginable bleakness shot through with light . . . of despair and friendship, sacrifice and betrayal, in a setting of bombed-out buildings and shifting alliances. It's the story of the first Westerner to escape al Qaeda—not a battle-hardened soldier, but an ordinary New Yorker who figured out how to set his escape plan in motion from a scene in Jurassic Park. From the prisoners' fiercely competitive hacky sack games and volleyball tournaments (played using a ball made of shredded orange peels and a shoelace) to his own truly nail-biting outbreak, Matthew Schrier's story is unforgettable—and one you won't want to miss.
Advance Praise
“Captured by Al Qaeda in Syria, Matt Schrier essentially played a long game of chess with them—and won. He escaped from their torture chambers and went on to write one of the most terrifying and suspenseful books I’ve ever read. This is an absolutely extraordinary story.”
—Sebastian Junger, author and journalist
“A tightly told story of brutal survival, unexpected friendships and ultimate escape . . . Matt’s engrossing story took me back to those days of struggle and survival and the desperate need for freedom.”
—Billy Hayes of Midnight Express
“A searing narrative of personal courage and the determination to survive. Schrier takes us inside the hellish world of secret Syrian prisons and his daring escape from his jihadist captors. He also paints a brutally frank portrait of the unexpected friendships and hostilities he formed with his fellow captives.”
—Philip S. Balboni, CEO and co-executive editor of DailyChatter and founder of GlobalPost
“The Dawn Prayer by Matthew Schrier is a thrilling documentary that reads like a novel. . . . The fact that he, as a Jewish photographer, survived to tell his story is amazing enough, but his escape to freedom was nothing short of miraculous. Take a deep breath before you begin reading; there is no breathing room in the pages of this one!”
—A.B. Grantham, Commandant, Department of Alabama, Marine Corps League
“If I ever had a chance to pick a guide to walk through hell, that would be, no doubt, Matt Schrier, whose gifted hand is able to tame the dreadful memories of his darkest hours in captivity into the most clear, powerful and enlightening narrative.”
—Juan Ríos, Spanish Mission to the UN
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781944648886 |
| PRICE | $24.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 312 |
Links
Featured Reviews
Lauren C, Reviewer
Really enjoyed reading this memoir. Obviously what Matthew went though was horrific, but he also focused on the good too, such as the relationships that he built up with other prisoners and even terrorists. I'm glad this was published after everything with Theo was sorted, as I don't think I would have been satisfied having him as a loose, unknown end. Love the fact Matthew has managed to find and keep in contact with some of the other prisoners he was held with and I would be interested to know the whereabouts or the life/death status of the others, but I know this isn't possible. I would be intrigued to read this again but from Theo's point of view.
Sandi H, Reviewer
Incredible story that will make you appreciate little freedoms you have never thought about before.
Jade H, Reviewer
The Dawn Prayer (Or How to Survive in a Secret Syrian Terrorist Prison) by Matthew Schrier is the story of Schrier’s seven months spent in captivity in a Syrian terrorist prison. He was kidnapped and held captive by the Syrian Al-Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra, in 2012 and managed to escape and make it back home to the US. Mainly with no help from anyone on this side of the world, and certainly not from any help inside the prisons. It’s pretty incredible that he made it out alive.
I’m glad that Schrier prefaces the book by kind of apologizing for how he may come across, as it kind of prepares you for what you read. You probably won’t really like him, especially not at first. Only three pages in and I wanted to tell him to shut up and stop being so bloody arrogant. But it’s really worth it to stick with him, I promise.
Schrier’s style is interesting in a detached sort of way, but I suddenly realized about two thirds of the way through that the matter of fact, jokey tone that he uses is actually his way of being able to recount the horrors of his time in Syria. That it was also his way of getting through it all in one piece, and most likely how he manages to function normally now. It was his way of talking about how he made friends with other POWs, and how they would disappear, never to be heard of again that struck a huge chord with me. Of how alliances were made and broken within the cells and how, surprisingly, the strongest alliances he made became friendships, while the one that would have seemed the most obvious ended up being fraught with betrayal and contempt.
It was however terribly hard for me to read about how much he despises his cell mate/other US citizen prisoner Theo, and how disgusted he is by him. The amount of times he hammers home how disgusting/stupid/idiotic/animalistic his cell mate is becomes slightly ridiculous. Everything Theo does is wrong, everything he says is stupid... But once in a while Schrier swoops down, godlike, to protect/save Theo. It’s almost as if he needs to prove how strong and smart he was by putting someone else down. I feel guilty even writing this because Schrier goes through his own fair share of torture and horror, and not only tries continuously to help himself survive but also others. But what struck me the most in his book is his contempt of Theo. Theo may well have been an awful companion/person (and yes he sounds like he had some serious issues, as well as an utter inability to help a fellow prisoner) but after a while I started zoning out every time I began to read what Theo had done wrong again.
But, despite the talk of how much he despises Theo, the real terrors are very present in the book and I can’t even imagine how horrific Schrier’s time in Syria was. His courage and ability to keep on going despite it all is pretty exemplary.
After I finished The Dawn Prayer I found it really helped me to watch videos of Schrier talking about his time in captivity. While his writing style grated on me a bit, he actually comes across as a really interesting, funny, and positive person on screen and in person. I do however want to read Theo’s recount of the time they spent together (although he most likely lies about it anyway, if Schrier’s personality description is accurate).
The Dawn Prayer will be published by BenBella Books on April 3rd, 2018. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy!
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