A Long Walk Home by Judith Tebbutt

In September, 2011, English couple Judith and David Tebbutt enjoyed a wonderful week's safari in the Masai Mara region of Africa before flying to a remote beach resort 40 kilometres south of Somalia. In the early hours of their first night there, Judith was snatched by pirates, put on a boat, then taken to a village in the lawless heart of Somalia. Here she was imprisoned in a nine foot square room and for six months endured terrible hardship.

A Long Walk Home is Judith's story of her kidnapping, how she interacted with the pirates and how even through such an ordeal, she came to realise that these men were human, had feelings, sometimes showed compassion, but most compelling of all, she realised that these people truly believed in what they were doing. From their perspective, their cause was just, this was their living, this behaviour had become part of their community's way of life. Furthermore, her survival would depend on her ability to never give up.

Judith wrote, 'There is nothing so bad in life as to have no hope, to believe you have been defeated, to give in to that. Now I found myself in confinement four thousand miles from home under a hostile sky, I would not accept that fate for myself.' A truly moving and inspired story.

Posted by Flaxmere Book Chat

Catalogue Link: A Long Walk Home