Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Roy Hallums: Buried Alive



Buried Alive is an intriguing book about the almost year-long captivity of Roy Hallums in Iraq. He relives the kidnapping and the captivity to great detail. Hallums was in captivity for 311 days, and while we don’t get to read about all of those days, with the information he provides it is easy to imagine each of the places he details. His family’s reactions are scattered throughout the book as well. The rescue by the US Special Forces is so touching at times it could make you cry.

Reading his family’s reactions is at times heartbreaking. There are times this story is so real to the reader that you forget you’re just reading a book and feel like you are there watching the events take place. You hear the voices of the captors and the other hostages. You can imagine the small room and cramped it must have been at times. Yet, we can never fully know just what this man endured. For he did endure. And he has now shared his story with the world. It is shocking, but it is most certainly inspiring.