The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine [Paperback]

Somaly Mam (Author), Ayaan Hirsi Ali (Introduction), Nicholas D. Kristof (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 2009

A riveting and beautiful memoir of tragedy and hope–by a woman named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world

Born in a village deep in the Cambodian forest, Somaly Mam was sold into sexual slavery by her grandfather when she was twelve years old. For the next decade she was shuttled through the brothels that make up the sprawling sex trade of Southeast Asia. She suffered unspeakable acts of brutality and witnessed horrors that would haunt her for the rest of her life–until, in her early twenties, she managed to escape. Unable to forget the girls she left behind, Mam became a tenacious and brave leader in the fight against human trafficking, rescuing sex workers–some as young as five and six–offering them shelter, rehabilitation, healing, and love and leading them into new life.

Written in exquisite, spare, unflinching prose, The Road of Lost Innocence is a memoir that will leave you awestruck by the courage and strength of this extraordinary woman and will renew your faith in the power of an individual to bring about change.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The Road of Lost Innocence is unputdownable, and you read it with a lump in your throat. Somaly Mam’s story is an account of how humanity can sink to the lowest levels of depravity, but it is also a testimony of resistance and hope. She lifted herself out of a well of terror and found the determination and the resilience to save others. Somaly Mam is my candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.”—Ayaan Hirsi Ali, author of Infidel

“An inspiring story from the front lines of a global tragedy. Somaly Mam’s courageous fight to save women and children reminds us that one person can stand up and change the fate of others for good.”
—Mariane Pearl, author of A Mighty Heart

“A powerful autobiography that I highly recommend.”—New York Times

“Inspiring.”—People

“Haunting . . . Mam explains trafficking from a girl’s perspective in a fresh, often poetic voice. . . . This is an important book to read.”—Seattle Times

About the Author

Somaly Mam is the cofounder of AFESIP (Acting for Women in Distressing Situations) in Europe and The Somaly Mam Foundation in the United States, whose goal is to save and socially reintegrate victims of sexual slavery in Southeast Asia. She was named Glamour's Woman of theYear in 2006. She lives in Cambodia and France.


From the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Spiegel & Grau; Reprint edition (July 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385526229
• ISBN-13: 978-0385526227
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only a total of 24 reviews???, October 16, 2009

By 

Patee333 (California USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine (Paperback)

This book is not getting enough notice. People need to read this book!!! There should be hundreds of reviews for it, but there's only a total of 24 including reviews for the hardcover as well. Someone needs to market the hell out of this book like RIGHT NOW!!! I have recommended it to all my friends and co-workers, in hopes to just get people to know about the horrors that are happening in Cambodia, and all over the world. This book was an eye-opener into a world that I was completely ignorant about. It's despicable that people exist to have brutal sex with poor innocent young children. Somaly Mam's book details the horrors in graphic detail and really makes you think! THINK!!! Here I am sitting and browsing online book reviews while a dozen innocent young girls are being brutally raped every minute in some filthy brothel in Cambodia or other countries. Is this what the world is coming to? The sex slave trafficking industry is one of the top three earning billions of dollars illegally....yet somehow, all governments are turning a blind eye to it. People like Somaly are trying to their best to help but the situation is just so daunting and out of control, I really don't know if it can ever be stopped or fixed. That's the horrible truth behind it. Young girls as young as 4-years-old are sold into brothels and savagely gang raped over and over again by men who are demons from hell. Pimps torture the poor girls to make them submit and to kill their spirit. People in the US need to seriously sit down and THINK. Quit complaining about what you don't have and how we suffer because of a bad economy. We have it 1000 times better than 99% of the world, yet we want more and we whine and complain. Americans need to educate themselves and not turn a blind eye to the horrors around the world. Ignorance is NOT bliss!!!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Devastating Story That Will Make You Angry, Sick, Sad, and Hopefully Inspire You To Do Something., August 27, 2009

By 

Krupali Tejura - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine (Paperback)

A few weeks ago a friend came across this book when they were delayed at an airport. After reading it they sent me an email about a book that made them so angry, that they had figured out what they wanted to do to change a little bit of this world.

A week later an Amazon box arrived at my doorstep with the book inside.

I opened it, read it in a day, and was devastated.

This book is powerful. A story of Somaly Mam, a young girl who was sold at an early age into prostitution in Cambodia... it is the raw truth of her experiences she had, watching her friend being shot in the head, to being covered with maggots to instill fear inside of her, to forcefully being thrown into rooms filled with men to 'do her duty'.

Each encounter was a vivid painful memory. Her story of how she came to start an organization to help these women is inspiring and phenomenal. It makes you want to go out and help her, and others in the world who are suffering from this tragedy.

A quote from the book that touched me is the following:
"I strongly believe that love is the answer and that it can mend even the deepest unseen wounds. Love can heal, love can console, love can strengthen, and yes, love can make change." -- Somaly Mam

I highly recommend the read. It will change a piece of you forever.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars heartrendering, March 26, 2011

By 

annettetl - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine (Paperback)

.This book is eye opening and informative. It is told in a spellbinding way that has the reader cheering and applauding the author for her spirit and tenacity in the face of grave odds. Her efforts to save others from a similar fate is truy inspirational and a testament to the human spirit. That such accomplishments have come from such awful beginnings is mind-boggling.