Slave: My True Story by Mende Nazer & Damien Lewis
I have to tell you about this amazing book, Slave: My True Story by Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis. Wow. Read this book. Read it now. Why? Because you just have to.
I could not put this book down. Even though I already had ten other books due back from the library before this one, I made the mistake of reading the first sentence. And then the first paragraph. And then the first page. And then the first chapter. And then the kids got ignored. Dinner didn’t get made. The dishes didn’t get done. I stayed up way too late. And then I finished. And then I sat back and thought with utter disbelief, “Wow. I had no idea! I have to tell people about this book!” Which made be so grateful that I have this blog so I can share this book with you.
Slave is the true story of Mende Nazer who grew up in a very remote village in the Nabu mountains of Sudan. When you think of tribal Africa, this is the type of village I’m talking about. The type where nobody wears clothes, where the girls are married at age 14 to men they were engaged to at birth, where the men have multiple wives and they are cut off from the outside world.
I was fascinated with Mende’s descriptions of her village, her family, her friends, her customs, her traditions, and even the more barbaric female circumcision. On a tangent, makes me so happy that I was born into a society that doesn’t do that, because I think I would have died from the sheer pain, both from the procedure itself and then after marriage. I’m getting chills just thinking about it again. I think I had my hand over my mouth the entire time I read through that passage. Aside from the circumcision, Mende’s life is one of family, love, laughter, and kindness. The perfect childhood. Mende describes her childhood so wonderfully that the rest of her story just shakes you to the core.
About the time Mende was twelve (the Nuba’s don’t keep records of birthdays) in 1993, Arab raiders attacked the small village, slitting throats, burning village huts, raping women and girls, and rounded up young children, including Mende. They were taken to a military camp and then to Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum. Mende has no idea what is going on and what kind of world she has just been thrust into A world with electricity, cars, tv’s, dishwashers, showers. A world with cruelty, anger, and violence. A world that doesn’t care about one little girl. One lost, little girl named Mende.
Mende is sold to a very wealthy Arab family as a slave. A slave in every sense of the word. She cleans the house from top to bottom every day, cooks, scrubs the dishs, washes the clothes, tends the children. She works for nothing, receives no wages, no time off. She sleeps in a locked shed outside, is only allowed to eat the leftovers from the family meal, and hasn’t left the house in years. She even calls her owners “master.” She suffers beatings, sexual advances, and the most horrific mental abuse. Not knowing whether her family is alive or dead, she gives up on her past life and has no hope for the future. Just a child when she became a slave she grew into womanhood as a slave. This is no life.
She truly believes that this is the way life is. That for some reason, somebody had decided that she was to be slave, and that was that. A passage that illustrates this really well is,
And I, for my part, began to forget my own family. I’m ashamed to say this now. But after I had been with Rahab four years or so, my memories just began to fade. Rahab had told me when I first arrived that I would stay with her for the rest of my life. I’d started to believe her. And if I did ever think about my wonderful, loving family, it just caused me grief and pain. For all I knew, they had all died in the raid. It was too horrible to think about. So I just blanked it out completely.
I had started to tell myself that my future, such as it was, now lay here, in Khartoum. I had a new family now, though I was their slave and they were my masters. There was no one that I could turn to, no one with whom I could talk about the past, no one with whom I could talk about the past, no one to help me remember the faces and the stories, the laughter and the love, to reaffirm my true identity. I had nothing tangible to remind me of my life as a Nuba, as not one single thing - not even my string of beads - had survived the raid. I had started to believe that these Arabs were all-powerful, that they had some God-given right to rule over us. I saw this evidence in my day-to-day life in Khartoum. I’d started to believe that this was how the world was: The Arabs enslaved the blacks. I had become convinced that they were invincible.
Nearing her twenties, Mende is sent to London to be a slave for her master’s sister. There she is treated the same. Locked in the house, she cooks, cleans and believes that there is no way to escape. But she begins to see a glimmer of hope as the family she “works” for slowly allows her more and more freedoms. Through sheer chance, having found out that her family is alive, Mende becomes desperate and is able to get into contact with another Sudanese man in London (she literally walked around until she found somebody she thought she could trust). On September 11, 2000 Mende finally finds freedom.
Once freed, she amazingly has a network of people to help her fight back, seek asylum, and write her memoir. Damien Lewis who helped her write her book says at the end, “What would you say to the people of the world about slavery in Sudan today?”
Mende’s message is:
I’d say that there is slavery going on, right now, today. I am an example and I am the living proof and it happened to me, personally. It happened to me in Sudan and then in London. And I know that there are lots of other people still enslaved in Sudan. I want people to realize this and that they need to do something to help stop it.
Sudan has denied that slavery exists in their country, although there is extensive evidence that it does. But the sad thing is that it’s not just in Sudan. Slavery still exists in many parts of the world, right under our noses. Even in London. It’s still happening. Just Google modern day slavery and slavery in Sudan and you’ll see what I mean.
Slave: My True Story was powerful. Mende’s voice was so real. It was my privilege to read her story. And I ask you now to read it as well.
You wrote a very powerful review. Wow. I’ll look for this book.
on May 31st, 2008 at 4:44 amI just added this to my TBR pile. I loved the description of you reading with your hand over your mouth. I know that will be me as I read this book too.
Also, I cannot believe she was shipped to London to continue her slavery. It’s so unbelievable. Did anything ever happen to the people who enslaved her?
on May 31st, 2008 at 4:47 amWow! Adding this to my list!
on May 31st, 2008 at 5:56 amI can’t leave an adequate comment without getting all riled up (after reading about the atrocities of the Holocaust…and now current day slavery). What is wrong with people??? Anyway, thanks for the review of this one. I still need to read The Translator.
on May 31st, 2008 at 8:32 amYou really are killing me, or at least my TBR list! I am trying not to add books to it until I have slimmed it down but after reading this review, I can not resist.
on May 31st, 2008 at 9:25 amWow, that book sounds fantastic and like an important read.
on May 31st, 2008 at 9:55 amWow, this sounds amazing Natasha! It’s going right onto my TBR list…It’s so sad that this still exists today, but it’s wonderful that Mende is writing about it and making us aware of her story!
on May 31st, 2008 at 1:46 pmThis is definitely going on my wishlist immidiately… thanks.
on May 31st, 2008 at 8:20 pmWow this sounds like a book I need to read. Isn’t it sad to learn that slavery exists today? It makes me so sad. Hopefully books like these will help people learn about this!
on May 31st, 2008 at 9:21 pmYou’ve convinced me. I added this to my TBR notebook.
on June 3rd, 2008 at 8:14 amI can’t say enough about this book. If I can convince just one person to read it than it was time well spent!
on June 4th, 2008 at 12:08 am[...] reviews Slave by Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis (I tthink this is her 52 week book, she reads so many I havea [...]
on June 6th, 2008 at 10:58 amThis book is just tooooooo powerful! I have read the book about 6 times! Its just too sad to actually find out that slavery still exists around, but what else can i say, it surely does know how to make a persons heart sink! , i wish i could still find out if wherether she saw her fam,ily again….
on June 17th, 2008 at 2:45 amHi
Thanks for sharing this book with us. You may find it very strange, but it happened that I am from Mende area, grow up in Dilling town where Mende said she spent some times there as slave. By the way Dilling is Nuba’s town.
What I would like to say Menede was never being into slave, and she used to live in Khartoum and Her family still there, and she was a regular tea seller girl (kind of self-employment ) in Sudan.
Her tribe never being under attack because it is far north and was not in the war zone. More than that her tribe was pro-Islamic government during the war, and most of her people had fought against the rebels forces.
Many have talked about Mende credibility, and she was granted asylum in England not because she was slave but because she had a controversial book.
May be it is good fiction book, but has nothing to do with truth.
Thank you,
Kabar
on June 18th, 2008 at 5:46 pmCanada
will add this to my reading list
on June 19th, 2008 at 7:44 amM. Elnoor Kabar - You bring up a very interesting argument, but I could find nothing to support your claims about Mende not being a slave. Slavery in Sudan is real and a huge problem. I do know that she was granted asylum in England because of her controversial book, that I won’t dispute. If you cared to give resources to back up your thoughts, I would be more than happy to take a look at them.
Mee - You won’t regret reading this one.
on June 21st, 2008 at 9:09 amI don’t believe I have seen this book. Sounds like something I would be interested in reading. I’m going to add this one on to my TBR list. Thanks!
on June 29th, 2008 at 11:56 amThis is a wonderful review. i read the book also and i must say it is sad to know that this type treatment hapened let alone to a human being
on July 18th, 2008 at 11:20 pmNatasha, I just finished reading this book a couple of days ago. I happen to stumble across it at the local library and was instantly interested and drawn in. I, like you, decided to read just the opening, maybe a few sentences and then maybe a few paragraphs and before I knew it, I was 1/2 way through the book. I also stayed up very, very late and didn’t even get up in the morning with the kiddies..(they are almost all 3 teens so I don’t feel too bad lol). I love this book, I have to say I did the same thing you did while reading the passage explaining Mende’s circumcision..ugh. I also, had my hand over my mouth and was hurting while reading that…oh all those poor girls, what a torturous thing to go through. I can’t belive that there are countries still allowing this type of thing to be done. It is so sad, I look back and think, in 1993 while Mende was going through this I was in my senior year of High school and fixing to graduate, I had the world at my fingertips and this poor, abused, young girl was going through so much. Thanks for such a great review, and I agree, everyone should read this book.
on August 23rd, 2008 at 12:39 amhey i like this bookk its great it inspired me heaps do you have any illistrations that go with if so can you email them to me
on August 26th, 2008 at 10:53 pmMende Nazer is indeed an amazing women, i just finished the book now and her story is surely is a voice of many more others that experienced and still are in most countries even in their own homes/families. I had to google her just to get to see what she looks like now.. in my mind i cannot help to think what a Brave “girl”.. The book is yet another massage for many of us.. (esp Myself) in God’s lessons about FAITH and PATIENCE. Thanks
on September 3rd, 2008 at 3:02 pmjust finished reading this book for school.
on September 23rd, 2008 at 2:39 amits so sad. i would love to meet mende.
if you get a chance read this book!
Hi, I have just finished reading this book. I too found it hard to put down and also had my hand over my mouth with the chapter about the circumcision. There is another book called, Sold by Zana Mushen, one by her mother Miriam Ail - Without Mercy and another by Zana - A promise to Nadia. These too are interesting reading and make you so thankful for they society in which you are bought up in. Add this to your TBR pile.
on October 3rd, 2008 at 9:08 pmJoy - You’re welcome!
Sharleen - I know it’s just awful!
Chanel - Thank you so much for your thoughts on this book. Isn’t it just amazing how different all of our lives are? While I’m nice and safe here others are in danger every day.
Sarah - I’m sorry, I don’t have any illustrations. It wasn’t illustrated.
Noluthando - Thanks for leaving your comments. They are much appreciated. Her story is indeed a lesson for all of us.
Kendall - I’d love a chance to here her speak as well.
Nicki - Dang you!
I can not pass up recommendations and now my TBR list as just increased by three. Thanks!
on October 3rd, 2008 at 10:39 pmHave just finished reading slave, brought in by a pupil when I set them homework to research modern day slavery. Does anyone know what has happened to her since the book?
on October 4th, 2008 at 4:45 pmHas she ever returned to Sudan? The book reminded me of Desert Flower, again a tragic story of modern day slavery that pupils find hard to believe.