Yasmeena's Choice: A True Story of War, Rape, Courage and Survival Paperback – October 3, 2013

This is an extreme tale of human survival within pages of extreme inhuman behaviour which was inflicted upon a Middle Eastern woman who became trapped in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion of 1990.Yasmeena was kidnapped and subsequently raped and tortured by invading soldiers within a secret prison which housed 15 women- one woman for each sadistic soldier’s gratification under the Iraqi regime of Saddam Huieseen in the attempted taking of Kuwait as Iraq’s province 19.Yasmeena speaks her truth about the awful circumstances of that time when she was taken. A 23 year old innocent Lebanese woman who was forced to submit to months of tortuous rape and sexual assaults along with the other woman of the prison, including the beautiful 16 year old Lana, a woman with such an amazingly courageous spirit that an entire book could be created and dedicated to her strength and spirit alone. Both women posesss extreme intelligence and courage in a world where women are treated as inferior and risk humiliation,blame and even family disownership and honor killings for bringing upon them any sexual advances-EVEN abuse.Sasson not only pays tribute to Yasmeena and these women who were captured, but details the lead up to and history of the invasion and the war itself. Explaining the invasion made me feel closer to what was happening and able to relate with the women and captors of the prison. It’s as if 1990 happened just yesterday.. or today even.It truly not only educated me but allowed me to connect to the FULL story of the situation Yasmeena and the country of Kuwait was in.God bless Yasmeena and Lana. Truly corageous women.

While I do not particularly like Jean Sasson (her forewords and post story comments are very self congratulatory) - she does write well and this story is horrifying and well told. My heart goes out to the poor woman at the heart of it, not only for what she had to live through, but for the fact that in her society there is no subsequent assistance and sympathy for her plight, just more blame. This book will stay with me a long long time. What happened to Yasmeena in this story was terrible, what happened to her friend Lana was unbelievable, beyond what a human being should have to live through, especially a near child. How can a group of men be so depraved to let each other do this? How can a society exist where this is ok?I was unaware of exactly what happened during this conflict and this book brought it to life very clearly as well as giving some valuable background to the area, to rape as a tool of war and to Muslim culture and belief.it is harrowing but definitely worth reading

A very personal horrific tragedy of war. The story is a second hand account of a young woman stranded in Kuwait during the Iraq invasion. It is a brutal story of the inhumane treatment of women and the civilian population from an undisciplined army without strong morale principles. This story is not for a reader of casual interest in the Kuwait War. It is hard to realize that this story was unfolding, as I was watching the nightly news recapping the buildup of coalition forces while this woman was being repeatedly raped. This is the follow up of the war: that never made the news, never made it to court, can never be made right. I pray that the survivor's find the peace they deserve

Jean Sasson you are an unsung hero. A woman exposing so much brutality and ugliness in the world and yet you are still unknown. You are the voice for the women silenced. You are the eyes of the women behind the veil witnessing atrocities the world is blind to. You are the courage other women draw from while they share their stories with you. You are inspiring and brave most of all a comfort to those you have encountered all over the world who have made known of their suffering and oppression.Yasmeena is a painful story to read. I can only imagine the courage Yasmeena gathered to tell of her ordeal. Difficult to imagine a woman being brutalized and unmercifully mistreated as she suffered. The strength she demonstrated is amazing and humbling.War is ugly and the atrocities suffered by many is appalling. I thank goodness Jean you shared Yasmeena's story so the world knows of the barbarity suffered by Yasmeena and so many other innocent women in the hopes of ending this horrific behavior and abuse.This is a must read for all concerned with women's rights, a story all should hear from the innocent and the forgotten. Long after war, the voices battle to be heard. Jean Sasson is a woman on a mission to bring awareness to our sisters suffering the unspeakable world wide.

This was a heartbreaking story and something that absolutely should be shared. I had a few issues with it though. While reading it I though it had been translated from another language because of the repetition and the wording but it hadn't. My second issue was that they author is writing about Yasmeena's story - but YEARS later and from memory as she states she didn't take notes. The story is horrific and no doubt stuck in the authors mind but because the lapse in time between hearing the story and writing the book was so great I started to doubt some of the smaller details which, for me, took away from the whole of the story.

I Just finished reading Jean Sasson's 'Yasmeena's Choice' and I feel that this is a watershed book that deserves top Journalistic awards. It's not just a well-written book. It's hard to think of a word that's strong enough to express my opinion of how incredible it is. Like others, once I began reading it, I couldn't put the book down. Though it is necessarily quite graphic, that is necessary to convey the depth of this story. However, the author handled it as discreetly as possible and yet convey the horror of the situation. There are writers and then there are writers. Jean Sasson was the right writer for this book as she is so knowledgeable of the middle east and so aware of the mores of people. Great book!