This is Our Story [Kindle Edition]

Wendi Adelson (Author), David Rottman (Editor)

Book Description

This is Our Story follows the lives of Rosa and Mila, two young women from different countries who become victims of human trafficking when unwittingly duped into domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation in the American Southeast. Their experiences with the underbelly of globalization here in our own backyard, and the legal battles they wage against their traffickers with their immigration attorney, Lily, are told in their own voices, and hers, in vivid and compelling detail.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''Fortunately, Wendi Adelson has written a novel, based on her vast experience, that allows the reader to enter the painful and isolated world of human trafficking. She opens our minds and our hearts to the struggles of young women we would never have the opportunity to meet. We are captivated and devastated by her stories, and we want to learn more. Wendi's book deeply touched me, a grandmother with three young granddaughters, and it would certainly appeal to the high school and college students I serve every day. These are stories to be told and retold, until we work together both locally and internationally to assure that human trafficking is no longer tolerated.'' --Rody Thompson, Southeast PeaceJam Director, Florida State University

''In 'This Is Our Story,' Wendi Adelson has captured the reality of young trafficked women in the United States. The main protagonists are multi-dimensional, evoking sympathy and admiration as well as frustration and pity. She brings to life the utter disregard for human dignity that characterizes traffickers around the world. She movingly and persuasively demonstrates how the victims are brutalized into believing in their own lack of self-worth, lack of recourse, and lack of a future. The book ends with a bitter-sweet, frustrating, but all too real resolution that brings into stark relief the magnitude and gravity of human trafficking.'' --Marisa Cianciarulo, Associate Professor of Law, Chapman University

About the Author

Wendi Adelson is a Clinical Professor and Director of Medical Legal Partnership at Florida State University College of Law.

Product Details

• File Size: 314 KB
• Print Length: 237 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005MRA7NQ
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #410,694 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing! March 26, 2012

By blair

Format:Kindle Edition

I absolutely loved this story. I couldn't put the book down. I really liked the set up too with each chapter switching perspectives. At first, I thought I'd get confused on who was who, but that wasn't the case. In fact, I found it effective in telling the story. In rotating perspectives every chapter, it helped show the simultaneous chaos that occurs during these situations, how it happens to more than one person at once, and how life is still happening all around with many people unaware of these horrible situations. I found it to be a great tool in telling the story. At certain points I was angry and in tears knowing that this happens, but also smiling because of the hope and kind people that were shown in the story. I am certain this book will inspire you and affect you in a way you would not have imagined.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Human Tragedy of Human Trafficking September 19, 2011

By Marisa

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

In "This is Our Story," Wendi Adelson has captured the reality of young trafficked women in the United States. The main protagonists are multi-dimensional, evoking sympathy and admiration as well as frustration and pity. She brings to life the utter disregard for human dignity that characterizes traffickers around the world. She movingly and persuasively demonstrates how the victims are brutalized into believing in their own lack of self-worth, lack of recourse, and lack of a future. The book ends with a bitter-sweet, frustrating, but all too real resolution that brings into stark relief the magnitude and gravity of human trafficking.

Marisa Cianciarulo, Associate Professor of Law, Chapman University

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Read! January 4, 2012

By Fincher

Format:Kindle Edition

** spoiler alert ** I thought this book would be very difficult to read (it being about human trafficking and all), but I found it was more difficult to put it down than anything else. These characters, their stories, and the issue - it all captivated my attention. The writing style and the way each character was developed got me hooked instantly. While there were events that were unpleasant to read, the courage and strength these characters exhibited made it worthwhile. They do escape their abusive situations and that happens early enough in the book for the reader to realize that escaping is only the first obstacle they face in having some semblance of a life. I think the author did a great job of balancing happy and realistic endings for all of the characters.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone that is interested in reading about the human-side of this issue. That is, through these characters, you see that these are just people who want a chance at a better life; people that are manipulated, deceived, and coerced into these situations; and people who face great challenges long after they are "free."

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Could not put it down September 15, 2011

By Joey Barr

Format:Kindle Edition

"The book was riveting and I could not put it down. I stayed up all night to read it and finished it in one session- something I have not done for many years." Joey Barr, MBA Candidate 2011, Berkeley Haas School of Business

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Important and Beautiful Book September 25, 2011

By David Rottman

Format:Kindle Edition

Wendy Adelson has written an important and beautiful book, which will have a huge impact on everyone who reads it. The book is moving and absorbing, and the topic is of paramount importance because it involves the souls of young women in our own society. I recommend it highly!!! David Rottman

1.0 out of 5 stars Clueless February 27, 2013

By astrabidastra

Format:Kindle Edition

I get that this is fiction, but the author does not seem clued in to the way real people experience the situations she tries to write about.

3.0 out of 5 stars Ok January 9, 2013

By Amanda Atkinson

Format:Kindle Edition

It was just OK. The story line and characters were great, but some parts dragged on making it a bit boring.

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving and, sadly, based on truth January 6, 2013

By Donna S. Meredith

Format:Kindle Edition

This is the compelling story of two young women who survive human trafficking here in America and the immigration lawyer who helps them escape from tortured lives. The story is all the stronger because one narrator is completely innocent, a child. The other young woman makes some bad choices yet is no less exploited and trapped in a terrible situation. No human deserves a life of coerced sex and prostitution. The lawyer's character is also fully developed as a woman with vision and flaws, a person who makes choices that are not always wise, whose behavior is sometimes altruistic and heroic, sometimes neglectful of those closest to her.

The story illustrates the tragic consequences of our immigration policies. Immigrants, whether their papers are in order or not, are human beings and deserve our respect and love. Terms like "illegals" and "aliens" should be removed from the discussion of immigration policy.

More About the Author

Wendi Adelson is a Floridian, born and raised, who teaches law students and represents clients in the fields of immigration, child advocacy, and disability rights. She has written for legal journals and produced a manual on special immigrant juvenile status. She has been a contestant on The Weakest Link, a contortionist, and now, a novelist. She resides in Florida with her boys.