The story of a woman and her colleagues and friends holding out for as kong as possible with all the challenges around them, while being targeted and bombed by the Assad regime and its "allies" - the Russians - is harrowing and yet inspiring. As story that isn't told enough.

This is a very interesting well written book. It gave insight to the suffering of civilians and the medical staff trying to do their best for them with very limited staff and resources. It was an eyeopener for me, about what actually happens that you don't realise unless you are on the ground.

The Cave by Amani Ballour and Rania Abouzeid is an exceptional account of survival, endurance and strength. The memoir depicts Dr Ballour’s experiences as a female Doctor in Syria from her childhood trying to achieve further education and overcome prejudice and sexism because she was a woman, to her work as a doctor and leader in the The Cave an underground hospital developed in Eastern Ghouta that operated during the Syrian Civil War. It is an account of incredible challenges and hardships with little food or resources, minimal staff and space the medical team at The Cave had to make impossible choices. The writing is written with clarity and rawness which emphasises the unflinching pain and suffering that Dr Ballour witnessed in particular the children she was trying to treat. It is a fast paced work of nonfiction that is striking, compelling and eye opening and is a must read for the world to learn what really happens under such terrible and brutal regimes. It is a book that advocates the need for acknowledgment and change as Dr Ballour who has traveled incredible distances and overcome unimaginable obstacles continues with bravery to deliver her message of humanity, care, and compassion. An emotional, essential read and I will definitely check out the documentary The Cave as detailed in this book 4.5 Stars ✨.

This is an astonishing book, the no-holds barred and unflinching memoir of Dr Amani Ballour who ran an underground hospital in Damascus. She describes the horrors with which she was confronted daily, the horrors that the regime was inflicting on its citizens. Never have I read anything which has brought those horrors to light so vividly. The book is incredibly timely, as not only is the war in Syria still raging, but we have a similar ruthless war raging in Palestine. Reading this gives us a further insight into what it must be like in the hospitals there. I can’t express just how powerful this book is. Everyone should read it, not least the politicians and war-mongers who inflict such trauma, but everyone, above all those who reject refugees and migrants who attempt to flee from such horrors. Amani Ballour is a truly remarkable woman. We should honour her.
I recommend watching the National Geographic documentary, similarly called The Cave, which is equally devastating. We should not turn away from what is happening.

This truly remarkable and heartbreaking story of survival of the besieged people in Syria from 2011 to 2018 is voiced by Dr.Amani Ballour. The detail of what her fellow Syrians endured as pockets of rebels fought against the repression of the Assad dictatorship as they tried to have a voice in their own country was staggering. To read about the emotional toll, the level of starvation, death, destruction, displacement and family ruin, is unimaginable. Assad wanted only to keep his power and his reign over the citizens of this country in an oppressed way. All the while, the death toll mounted as the bombing and fires spread like a disease throughout the cities and towns. It was in those small rural ill-equipped hospitals that the doctors and staff tried to treat and care for the wounded and common sickness that people come to hospitals for. Newly graduated Amani joined an underground makeshift hospital referred to as The Cave and was thrown into caring for people with very little hands-on experience. As the war raged on, NGOs from around the world provided money and supplies to outfit The Cave and those doctors did what they could to treat the wounded and dying all as bombs, fires, gunfire and raids were happening all around them. The hospital staff became a close knit support system to each other as many spent long days and nights away from family treating everyone. The people of Ghouta were without power, water and food was scarce but the urge to survive is a strong one and they found creative ways to make do. Amani's journey to becoming a doctor went against the conventional role for an Islamic woman who is normally married with children at a very young age. She entered The Cave at 26 as an unmarried woman yet totally accepted for her skills in medicine. She was respected for her skills and intelligence regardless of her sex and over time even became the director of the hospital for over a year, voted into this job by males and females alike. She began to speak out about the horrors she was seeing following Assad's heartless use of sarin gas to kill innocent people. It poisoned the air and killed thousands of men, women and children who had done nothing wrong. And despite this chemical warfare, the world was not forthcoming with help for the victims or sanctions against him. Later, with help from Russia and Iran, his forces got even more brutal in their killings, retentions, torture and punishments. Despite the fact that hospitals were supposed to be safe from attacks, this didn't stop Assad's regime as the conflict raged on and hospitals were bombed and ruined, leaving few places for help for the injured. Amani and many of her hospital staff were forced to leave her hometown and find asylum in other countries once Assad's forces finally stopped the rebels and she eventually got to France, later Germany and finally after many years, to the United States. During the middle of the conflict following many interviews given to various news outlets, a team of documentarians came to film the conflict. This film, called The Cave, later become a finalist for an Oscar. While it didn't win, it brought to light the horrors the innocent people of Ghouta during this horrifying and brutal 7 year siege. All the people wanted was a voice in their own country. They wanted freedoms. They wanted a more democratic way of governance. They got none of that nor did the world come to their aid. Amani continues to speak out about this repression in her country and how it relates to other dictatorial governments around the world. That one person should be able to tell others how to live, to work, to exist is wrong. For her work and her voice, she was awarded the Council of Europe's Raoul Wallenberg Prize for her personal courage, bravery and commitment in saving hundreds of lives during the Syrian war.
Dr. Ballour is a force! With this book, she wanted to tell the world what happened to her family, to her people and about the innocent lives lost. As a pediatrician, she was especially affected by all the sweet children whose lives will never be the same, who lost limbs, sight, parents, siblings, and have grown up not understanding why. She suffers from PTSD herself. Once she left Syria, she could never again hug her parents who remained behind. She lost so many friends, neighbors and for what?? As I read this book, all I could think about was, replace the word Syria with Ukraine or Gaza or Haiti or a host of African nations as wars that are going on right now. All the innocent people who never asked to live like this but are subject to the whims of rebels they don't know.
I received this amazing story from Netgalley and National Geographic for my honest and voluntary review.

Wow this memoir took my breath away. This book is a striking account of Dr. Ballour’s experience as a young doctor working in, and later running, an underground war-time hospital in besieged Eastern Ghouta throughout the Syrian Civil War.

Dr. Ballour accounts the suffering and cruelty she and her patients, colleagues, and family faced at the hands of the Assad regime in unflinching language. Her story is one of unbounded strength as she tirelessly worked to secure medicine, organise safety tunnels and dodge shelling while still facing sexism at the hands of her community.

This is, without a doubt, a must-read account of a woman who moved heaven and earth to save lives in the midst of a brutal war. I will be thinking of Dr. Ballour and the children she cared for a long time to come.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Heartbreaking yet inspiring read. I normally don't find myself binge reading non fiction stories, due to the fact that they are heavier then fiction, but The cave caught my attention in the first chapter and kept it until the last page.

An intense read that will make you fee.l a lot of emotions. Mostly disgust and hope.

The Cave is a memoir by a Syrian doctor, Amani Ballour.

Syria has been in the news for many years, but this is an opportunity to see the revolution from the viewpoint of someone who lived in the middle of it.

Dr. Ballour grew up in a relatively peaceful town. After graduation from medical school, though she had no hands-on experience, she began volunteering in a basement hospital, nicknamed the Cave, and learned her trade on the job. Her descriptions of trying to run a hospital and treat patients during a war were eye-opening. Her eventual escape to safety was a nail-biter.

With the wars in Gaza and Ukraine on television every day, this story can help us understand what life is like for people in a war zone. It is definitely worth reading.

The story of Amani Ballour, a doctor and young activist who ran an underground hospital in Damascus during the Syrian crisis. This book was so powerful and left me speechless. The book talks of her experiences on the front lines during the Syria attacks, it opens with a sarin chemical warfare attack when she is still early on in her medical career. It discusses the absolutely horrifying acts that her community experienced. This book should be a must read for all so that we don't allow these horrors to continue to repeat themselves. A powerful story of a woman making challenging the humanitarian crisis.

Thank you Netgalley for a digital ARC.

The Cave is a powerful true story of Dr. Amni Ballour over some very difficult years in Syria. I was not really familiar with the humanitarian crisis that has gone on in Syria for some ten plus years now. So I learned a lot reading this account.
Dr. Ballour is an amazing person, who cared for people in very difficult circumstances and with many challenges. This book is hard to read at points, because of the difficult things she had to live through. But it is also a testimony to the human spirit and how much people will give in tough times.

At the risk of her own life and those of her family members, newly graduated Dr. Amani Ballour, serves her town’s people in an underground hospital, after a devastating sarin gas attack, during the crisis in Syria.

Amani Ballour intended to specialize in pediatrics; a 5 year internship beyond her medical degree. The war in Syria changed her plans. She grew up in a conservative, Muslim, patriarchal society and was already bucking the norms for women: unmarried at 26, working, an activist. With mixed support from her family, Amani held fast and accomplished heroic deeds in horrific conditions.

THE CAVE is her story of the six years she served her community in an underground hospital known by the same name. Ballour’s ability to communicate is mesmerizing. I expected difficult prose due to her language challenge but that’s not the case. I was transported to the streets of Ghouta, the underground hospital, pain, suffering and horrors of war. Her desire to help and serve, make a better way for women in a special way, while improving life for all of her beloved Syria is palpable.

This is a story you won’t forget. Altho’ many of the stories are gruesome, they’re not graphic. It’s eye opening. I was not aware that the conflict continued so long. The Media has a way of abandoning stories that aren’t popular or titillating enough. Persecuted people, regardless of religious beliefs and abused, women are important and deserve to be recognized and reported.

Dr. Ballour has sacrificed much of her life for these. She has won awards but they don’t really matter to her. What matters is this story and the potential for impact and change for her country, where she’s no longer welcome. A well written, worthy read; highly recommended 📚

Read & Reviewed from a PW Grab a Galley via NetGalley, with thanks

The book tells the story of a young Syrian woman, Amani, who grew up in a suburban area of Ghouta near Damascus. "The Cave" has broken my heart over and over again. I had to stop reading many times and considered not continue reading, but I needed to know. The parallels with the ongoing situation in Ukraine, daily bombings and loss, are striking. The pain, fear, and outrage are all too real for me.
This memoir is an honest and powerful account of a woman who, despite the patriarchal and conservative culture of Syria, managed to follow her dream of education and carved a path for herself as a doctor in a male-dominated world. It's a testament to the cruelty life can inflict, showing how a tyrant's ambition can devastate a nation for generations.
The details about Syria presented in the book are fascinating, offering a glimpse into Amani's deep love for her country, home, and people. These feelings resonate with me profoundly as I, too, am torn from my homeland and family by war. I know Amani's pain. Even in safety, the feeling of nostalgia can overshadow all else, souring every day.
The depiction of the years-long siege is unflinchingly brutal. There is no attempt to soften the horrors of war for the reader; it presents only the stark realities of horror, bloodshed, despair, and hatred. While some may search for a glimmer of hope within these pages, I found none. Bashar al-Assad remains in power, millions of Syrians are either dead or displaced, and Russians have moved on to killing Ukrainians.
Amani also shares her journey of survival and the enduring battle with PTSD after finding safety, a reality faced by countless individuals who have endured war, violence, and other unspeakable horrors. This aspect of her story sheds light on the invisible, lifelong scars carried by survivors.
This book is not for those seeking a light, pleasant read. Yet, we, as human beings, cannot afford to ignore stories such as this. As Amani wishes to be the voice of the children who were killed, we, as readers, have the power to amplify that voice. It's the least we can do.

A dedicated physician struggles to save lives in the basement of a partially constructed building slated to be a hospital called "the cave".

Armani Ballour is awoken suddenly in the middle of the night and told to go to the "cave" as a wave of injured people arrive for medical assistance. Dr. Armani treats people attacked with a nerve agent known as sarin.
Dr. Armani grew up and lived under "Assad's Syria" which was a one-party state that didn't tolerate opposition of any kind. After decades of being ruled under one family, the Syrian people felt it was time for a change in government. Armani struggles to run the "cave" as its director as the regime cuts of supplies as a result of its hold over her community. She is faced with electrical shutoffs, shortage of medical supplies, food and many other essential items needed to run a hospital. Despite her sorrow and hardships, Armani is determined not to be silenced, but tell her story through countless interviews.

I enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. Armani is a brave woman who pursued her dream of being in the medical field. Armani's struggles to un a hospital with a constant flow of injured people is hard to imagine for those who have never experienced a shortage of basic medical necessities. The historical background of the Assad family and Armani's personal experience of living in an oppressed government adds to the depth to her story. I highly recommend this book for readers interested in the Syrian conflict. It is also a great read of Armani's courage to tell the world of her struggles of running a hospital under the regimes dictatorship.

I was so moved by this book. It isn't an easy read, but it's such an important one. Syrian physician Amani Ballour describes her experiences growing up under the Assad regime, training as a doctor in a patriarchal society, and working tirelessly with fellow medics to care for victims of the relentless siege and attacks by the regime's forces in a poorly equipped underground hospital. Her harrowing account of the danger, violence, and oppressive conditions is heart-rending and eye-opening, and the atrocities visited on innocent men, women, and children are painful to read and deserve to be known. I'm so full of awe and admiration for the strength and dedication of the author and all the people who fought to save lives at great personal risk, and for people who stand up for human rights no matter the cost. The author writes with great love and with great pain, and it's impossible not to be touched and inspired by her words. I'm very glad that I read this book.

I'm grateful to the author, the publisher, and to Netgalley for providing me with a free advance reader copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

4.5 stars.

A truely heartbreaking, inspirational and powerful book. What Amami Ballour and her community have gone through is nothing short of terrible my heart breaks for each and every single one of them and the millions of others still going through it. Humanity can be so ugly!

The writing of the book is Amazing. Amami’s bravery shines through throughout. It is written with such raw emotion, and feeling.

I was given an ARC Ebook of this book by #Netgalley and #NationalGeographic in exchange for my honest opinion.

Just finished reading an advance copy of "The Cave". Some may have already seen the National Geographic Documentary about this Hospital established during the war in Syria. The book provides a window into the life of Dr. Amani as she grows up following a different path, becoming educated and then going to Medical School, and working in the underground hospital known as The Cave in her hometown. She shares about the hardships of getting supplies, the challenges of running the hospital, the realities of not being able to stabilize or treat the wounded and dying, and the personal cost and thoughts that haunt her during and after this experience.

This is a great book to learn more about the actions of the government and revolutionaries during the War in Ghouta, Syria, wartime medicine, and the life of the Doctors and Staff caring for civilians in a hospital during the Syrian Revolution. It gives us a window into what life is like during a specific time for Syrian families with a focus on the views and limitations placed on women. Dr. Amani shares her fears, concerns, and hopes as she is growing up, practicing medicine in an active war zone and afterwards.

Whether you are drawn to this because of an interest in wartime medicine, women who break out of the mold and expectations of their culture, wanting to learn about the Syrian Revolution, or the culture of Syria at the time. This is a powerful and moving story that will draw you in. as we read we learn about the childhood, family and education of Amani Ballour. How she became a Doctor and then worked and eventually was responsible for an underground hospital nicknamed The Cave in her hometown of Kafr Batna. We follow her from knowing this was an area she played in as a child, where she begins to learn about medicine after she finishes her schooling in October of 2012 from The Cave’s founder Dr. Salim Namour, and how she is mentored and eventually has the responsibility for running and building the hospital into what it will be through its eventual close when she has to evacuate due to town no longer remaining free under revolutionary forces. As we read we get unvarnished reflections on her family, her faith and culture, and the crimes and horrors that were perpetrated by the Assad regime during the revolution that started in the spring of 2011.

Dr. Amani shares from the heart about her thoughts and experiences, “I was under immense psychological pressure, some days, the weight of it all felt like to much to carry. I couldn’t always talk about what I was in the hospital, especially with my family. I tried to shield my parents and siblings from the worst of my experiences. I didn’t want them to worry about me more than they already did, but it wasn’t easy. I couldn’t just forget what I saw; my memories were not like a tap I can simply shut off, even now. I still bear the psychological scars of my experiences. The one thing that calmed me was religion. It was my solace.” (Kindle, 1205) She shares those memories with us, her thought process at the time and along with the cultural restraints that were present in expectations for women, and how women are treated.

The book offers a glimpse into the challenges to provide medical care in an active combat situation for civilians who have been injured. Because of learning and eventual practice in pediatric medicine a graphic portrait is presented of the many ways infants and children were affected. She honestly shares her thoughts, and the recurring ways they come back to haunt her, when a child could not be treated or saved, and no comfort could be given to the grieving family members. We also get insight into how the war and care for the wounded and dying impacted the other staff members, and eventually the hospital as it began to be targeted and staff members were killed.

Her courage to advocate for her education, advocate for other women who were brought in to work at the hospital, and tell her story ensures that has been documented in the historical record. In her journey, she lets us into the decision-making process for patients when there are no medical supplies, how she became open to having the work in the hospital filmed and began to speak out in the media herself about what was happening. The film was nominated for an Academy Award and came to be through the persistence of the filmmakers so that she, “eventually relented-not because my esteemed colleagues had agreed, but because I thought we might die at any moment and nobody beyond these walls would know what had happened here.”(Kindle 1783) We get to read and see this story now through the book and the National Geographic Documentary.

At 26 years of age, Dr. Amani became the breadwinner for her family and “learned through experience that the human capacity to endure hardship is vast; we are capable of extraordinary resilience.” (Kindle, 1021) Dr. Amani was the first and only woman to run a wartime hospital in rebel-held Syria. She was awarded the Council of Europe’s Raoul Wallenberg Prize for 2020. She lived as a refugee in Syria and then migrated to Europe and eventually the United States. Her story provides hope, it shows how we can be so much more than what is expected or allowed. She met her husband and married well after the expected timeline for girls who became women as teens and lives now with their son Amal, hope in Arabic, and husband in the United States.
National Documentary:
https://films.nationalgeographic.com/the-cave/

I was enamored with Amani's story and the struggle of the people of Syria. Somehow, it not only opened my eyes to the horror of the civil war of Syria, but also glimpses of hope from Amanis's perspective that have not been lost. I will be purchasing this novel as soon as it comes out, to soak up Amani Ballour's courageous story again as well as share it with those around me.


Thank you to Netgalley and National Geographic for giving me early access to The Cave in exchange for an honest review.

I had a family that I used to teach with connections to Syria. This book gave me a lot more insight to the conflict in Syria and what people there were going through. I may watch the documentary, The Cave, sometime as well. I think we're take peace for granted sometimes. This book was a good reminder to be grateful for what we have.

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙩-𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙢𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙣-𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙡 𝙗𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙨, 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚; 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩. 𝙄𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙: 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙧𝙪𝙗𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙨, 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 - 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙨 - 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩.”

Do you know what it’s like to go hungry … for days? Unable to source food and medicine? To have no electricity? Wash your food in contaminated water? Go sleepless for long nights due to bombing and shelling? See your home burned/ bombed to rubble? Your loved ones disappear or found dead/wounded? No phone, cell network? No humanitarian aid?

This was the reality of 400, 000 people trapped under siege by the Syrian government forces.

We in the West know 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 about being besieged.

The purpose of this book is to focus the world’s attention on the suffering of the Syrian people. Set in Kafr Batna town in Eastern Ghouta, Syria, this book tells of how the city (9 miles from Damascus) was besieged by the Syrian government from 2011 to 2018. According to the UN, it is “the longest-running siege in modern history.”

To put it simply - in the seven years of civil unrest in eastern Ghouta, 140,000 fled their homes, 50,000 were evacuated and thousands were wounded or died. The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented 222 chemical (Sarin) weapon attacks in Syria between Dec. 2012 - August 2023.

The title refers to the nickname given to the hospital where pediatrician Dr. Amani Ballour worked. Due to daily bomb bombardment, the hospital is situated in a subterranean network of tunnels. ‘The Cave’ was a moniker initially used between hospitals in Ghouta to refer to Ballour’s particular center when communicating over walkie-talkies. Trapped, exhausted, starved, and in constant fear, they worked horrendous hours to save lives. Ballour estimates that, depending on the level of violence, her hospital saw up to 3,000 patients a month.

I’m both humbled and inspired by their resilience and their push to survive.

I was shocked to discover that under such conditions, help and leadership was not appreciated by all. Dr. Ballour informs us about how the patriarchal Syrian society was so ingrained that she faced daily sexism and hypocrisy. In this culture of aggressive masculinity, she was often dismissed as the head of the hospital and as a competent female doctor…with those she worked with and those needing her help!

Ballour’s powerful and moving account enlightens us about what it was like to grow up in a confined, rule-bound society, to achieve one’s dream despite overwhelming odds, to become a leader within a devastated community, and then forced to flee when it becomes too unsafe. She speaks up for the ones silenced, heralds those who stepped up to help, appreciates the untapped power source of women, and tells of what thousands of Syrians escaped from and why they left their beloved country.

As of 2021, 70% of Syrian’s healthcare workers fled the country.

I’ll leave you with her painful words …”The world has been watching, doing nothing. It’s shameful in the 21st century. Everyone can help. Every single thing is important. 𝙒𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨.”

This important read needs to be on your reading list this March!

I was gifted this copy by National Geographic and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I received this book as an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity.

Dr. Amani Ballour has thoughtfully and bravely told her story. Her book is written with pure feeling and emotion.

She is a courageous humanitarian whose story is heartbreaking and valiant and needs to be heard.

#TheCave
#NetGalley
#goodreads