I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

By: Nujood Ali

Narrated by: Meera Simhan

Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Forced by her father to marry a man three times her age, young Nujood Ali was sent away from her parents and beloved sisters and made to live with her husband and his family in an isolated village in rural Yemen. There she suffered daily from physical and emotional abuse by her mother-in-law and nightly at the rough hands of her spouse. Flouting his oath to wait to have sexual relations with Nujood until she was no longer a child, he took her virginity on their wedding night. She was only 10 years old.

Unable to endure the pain and distress any longer, Nujood fled, not for home, but to the courthouse of the capital, paying for a taxi ride with a few precious coins of bread money. When a renowned Yemeni lawyer heard about the young victim, she took on Nujood's case and fought the archaic system in a country where almost half the girls are married while still under the legal age. Since their unprecedented victory in April 2008, Nujood's courageous defiance of both Yemeni customs and her own family has attracted a storm of international attention. Her story even incited change in Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries, where underage marriage laws are being increasingly enforced and other child brides have been granted divorces.

Recently honored alongside Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice as one of Glamour magazine's women of the year, Nujood now tells her full story for the first time. As she guides us from the magical, fragrant streets of the Old City of Sanaa to the cement-block slums and rural villages of this ancient land, her unflinching look at an injustice suffered by all too many girls around the world is at once shocking, inspiring, and utterly unforgettable.

©2010 Nujood Ali (P)2010 Random House

shockingly moving

Any additional comments?

Told in her voice, this is a moving account of the bravery of a lone girl, in the face of poverty and violence. Most of us cannot imagine the events of this sweet girls life unfolding within this story. I definately plan to follow her life as best as I can. Amazing. A must 'listen' to for all.

Great read!

What did you love best about I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced?

I love the inspiration I felt after reading her story.

What other book might you compare I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced to and why?

I recently read

Have you listened to any of Meera Simhan’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I wanted to share it right away with my friends.

Any additional comments?

I enjoy memoirs.

Fantastic story

What did you love best about I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced?

The fantastic story of this little girl and her courage.

What was one of the most memorable moments of I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced?

The first evening in her new housbands family.

What does Meera Simhan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Everything. Her voice could not be more right for this book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definately.

Any additional comments?

I love all kinds of biografies and autobiografies and this was definately no disappointment.

Very encouraging and challenging story

I love this story and the way in which it was written as well as read. I could actually visualized being there in the background seeing everything.

This story was heart warming in the end. Although unfortunate for many others who struggle with this insanity. I pray and hope that Nujood will succeed at making a difference where others can't reach.

Enjoyed the bravery of this child...

Imagine being able to tell this story at nine years old. .. Or even having the ability to self advocate as she did! Fascinating, makes me want to do something to help this backwardness.

Glad i "read" this book

What was one of the most memorable moments of I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced?

What is memorable to me from reading this book is that this horrible "tradition" is at all acceptable. It is a tragedy.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Im glad this book is a choice for elementary students to read. We all need to be educated on this very important subject and try to make changes.

Three stars

An obviously disturbing story told in the usual matter of fact fashion with which these books are usually rendered. It does wander off into familial and cultural tangents a lot for a book so short. A distressing through not overly engaging tale.

LIFE IS HARD

However, life is harder in some parts of the world than others. When local tribal customs advise men to marry 9 year old girls.... something is wrong with that culture. Yemen isn't the only country in that region to marry off pre-pubescent girls and, clearly, there are educated people in the capital who are trying to change this.

Nujood is a child with a lot of courage and her story was a good window into the culture and living conditions in her country.

Important but Difficult Story

This book was a selection at my book club. I found the story very disturbing, as I imagine anyone would. It was very interesting to learn a little bit about life in Yemen incluidng the culture and practices. The history of marriage at such a young age was hard to learn of. I hope that Nujood will be able to acheive her dreams, but she has had a very difficult start.

While I recognize that the narrator was telling the first-person story of a young girl, I sometimes found her stacato narration a bit affected and an impediment to my being able to relax into the story. Because I have not had a chance to also read the book, I can't tell whether or not the writing style contributed to this as well -- but I suspect it may have.

Wonderful

What made the experience of listening to I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced the most enjoyable?

Simply written and read of such a difficult story

What did you like best about this story?

A Divorce party very cool

What about Meera Simhan’s performance did you like?

showing all the voices in a great role

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes