Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Growing Up bin Laden  By  cover art

Growing Up bin Laden

By: Jean Sasson,Najwa bin Laden,Omar bin Laden
Narrated by: Mel Foster
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.91

Buy for $18.91

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

"I was not always the wife of Osama bin Laden. Once I was an innocent child dreaming little girl dreams."

Thus begins this powerful story by Najwa bin Laden, who married her cousin Osama bin Laden at the age of 15 to become his first wife and the mother to 11 of his children, and her son, Omar bin Laden, the fourth-born son of Osama bin Laden. Together, mother and son tell an extraordinarily powerful story of a man hated by so many yet both loved and feared by his family, with spine-tingling details about the life and times of the man they knew as a husband and father, including:

  • Osama's disapproval of modern conveniences, including electricity and medicine
  • His plan to toughen up his sons by taking them into the desert without food or water
  • Transporting his wives and children to the rough terrain of Sudan, where he claimed to be preparing them for attacks from Western powers, commanding them to dig holes and to sleep in those holes, allowing nothing more than sand and twigs for cover
  • Omar's horror at the rape and murder of a boy his own age by members of a jihadist group living among them in the Sudan
  • What happened in the bin Laden home in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the morning of September 11, 2001, and Omar's surprise phone call with his mother, who escaped from Afghanistan only two days before the shattering events that killed so many innocent people
  • Since September 11, 2001, journalists have struggled to uncover carefully guarded information about Osama's private life. Until now, Osama bin Laden's family members have not cooperated with any writers or journalists. Now, with unprecedented access and insight, Jean Sasson, author of the best-selling Princess: A True Story Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia, takes us inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden.

    ©2009 Jean Sasson (P)2009 Tantor

    What listeners say about Growing Up bin Laden

    Average customer ratings
    Overall
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • 5 Stars
      87
    • 4 Stars
      32
    • 3 Stars
      14
    • 2 Stars
      4
    • 1 Stars
      1
    Performance
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • 5 Stars
      68
    • 4 Stars
      23
    • 3 Stars
      10
    • 2 Stars
      4
    • 1 Stars
      1
    Story
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • 5 Stars
      72
    • 4 Stars
      21
    • 3 Stars
      10
    • 2 Stars
      2
    • 1 Stars
      1

    Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

    Sort by:
    Filter by:
    • Overall
      5 out of 5 stars

    Fascinating. I could not stop listening.

    This book is not a literary work, but rather the memories of Najwa and Omar, two people who knew Osama Bin Laden not as a hero or a villain, but as a husband and father. He was a man they both loved in different ways, but also became a man they had to break with in order to survive.

    Najwa's strength is the strength of love and determination to bend her will to her husband's and make the best of increasingly difficult circumstances for herself and her children. Omar's story is that of a young boy who grew up idolizing his hero father, but also being extremely disturbed by the hardships his father made him suffer -- sometimes carelessly, and sometimes deliberately. Although there are vivid recollections of attacks and violence as well as severe deprivation, what fascinates is Omar's inner journey from violence and retaliation toward peace and reconciliation. That he was able to survive the constant messages justifying hatred and killing and retain his love of all of god's creation -- both animal and human, is remarkable.

    Please listen with an open heart and mind to the lives of these people. There were a few turning points that might have averted the 9/11 attacks that are probably unknown the common man in the west before this book. The book deeply conveys that no matter how misguided we may consider Osama Bin Laden, he is a man convinced of his own righteousness and the justice of his mission. His family as well as the rest of the world, bears the scars of that obsession.



    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    5 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      4 out of 5 stars

    True grit and painful to hear

    It must have been painful to write this book- it details one man's descent into extremist madness and the horrific toll it took on his wives and children. This book is a great read and gives some insight into a culture so different from our own; where husbands are king and wives and children are subjugated and raised according to the father's whims and beliefs. Thank God for America, I wouldn't last very long over there.....!

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    3 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      4 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      4 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      4 out of 5 stars

    Bin Laden's Son Speaks

    If you could sum up Growing Up bin Laden in three words, what would they be?

    It changes nothing

    What did you like best about this story?

    The yearning of Omar Bin Laden when he describes his childhood and the relationship with his father touched me. As an adult, the yearning for a father persists despite his ability to look at and judge his father with suprising objectivity.

    What about Mel Foster’s performance did you like?

    The performance was good overall but there were times when I felt as ifI was listening to italics and could not determine if they were the author's or the narrator's

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

    no

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    2 people found this helpful

    • Overall
      4 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      5 out of 5 stars

    Could Not Stop Listening!

    Would you listen to Growing Up bin Laden again? Why?

    I would definitely revisit this book in a year or two and recommend it to students studying history.

    What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

    Hearing the progression of Osama bin Laden as a man from a prominent family to an extremist who put his goals ahead of everything else in the name of his religion.

    Which scene was your favorite?

    Life on Tora Bora was so descriptive, I felt like I was up on that mountain braving the storms and the snakes. The edge of that mountain was indeed the

    What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

    I enjoyed learning about the Islamic customs and how the 4th son became the closest to Osama bin Laden

    Any additional comments?

    I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about Osama bin Laden the man.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    1 person found this helpful

    • Overall
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      5 out of 5 stars

    One of the best books that I have listened to.

    If you could sum up Growing Up bin Laden in three words, what would they be?

    Captivating.

    Who was your favorite character and why?

    Najwa bin Laden. She is such an insightful, strong woman.

    Which scene was your favorite?

    Najwa bin Laden's joy with the birth of each of her children, and how she supported her children without

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

    I have not come to the 9-11 part yet, but it is refreshing to feel compassion for the family of such an evil man. I haven't cried yet. 45 minutes left to go though.

    Any additional comments?

    This is the 4th book of Jean Sassons that I have read or listen too. She is an excellent writer of others experiences.
    The narration of this book is excellent.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    1 person found this helpful

    • Overall
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      5 out of 5 stars
    • J
    • 12-30-23

    Wow

    Truly crazy to hear the life of the Bin Laden family from the Bin Laden family. It blows my mind he put his family in harms way to continue his violence. It is sad to hear that many of his wives and children’s fates are unknown, and many of them so young. Awful human being, but humanizes his innocent family.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    • Overall
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      5 out of 5 stars

    Loved it! I am a history buff, just up my street!

    Loved it, couldn't stop listening! I am a history buff, right up my alley. a must listen to!

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    • Overall
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      5 out of 5 stars

    thank you Najwah and Omar...

    ...and thank you Jean Sasson for writing their stories so well. Riveting true story that I couldn't put down (and that's rare). I purchased the book for the photos (and to refer to certain chapters in print) but listened to it on Audible where it is excellently read (I am picky). My greatest takeaway is a huge affinity with Najwah's gentle spirit and admiration for Omar's resistance to his father under such an overpoweringly difficult, violent and authoritarian regime.
    I appreciated the reminder that members of Osama's army were each human beings and that not all were in lockstep with his murderous hatred in their hearts, life is complex. It's very easy to criticise after the fact. How many of us would dissent under such oppression and threat of death? Some have, some do, some will. Thank you Omar and Najwah for your courage in standing for peace. You have enriched our lives and helped us deal with the unthinkable.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    • Overall
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      5 out of 5 stars

    Very interesting book

    It’s amazing how all the pieces of the puzzle fit. One missing piece would have stopped the next tragedy but that clearly didn’t happen. It’s a book that explains most of the information we already new. I have always believed Americans played a part in how this tragedy unfolded. Look at American Foreign policy during the decades before and after 911, they did play a part in all of this.

    Najwa left Afghanistan on September 9th and that is a really important date in Afghanistan. This is the day al Qaeda carried out the attack on the Northern alliance leader Ahmad shah Massoud. He was practically the only resistance left in Afghanistan against the Taliban and a force that would have assisted the Americans. Did his assassination play a part in her decision to leave? He also warned the world that something big is happening in Afghanistan and people need to pay attention but was ignored.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

    • Overall
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Performance
      5 out of 5 stars
    • Story
      5 out of 5 stars

    Interesting listen

    Fascinating story about the lives of Najwa and Omar Bin Laden. It was interesting to hear their versions of lire with bin laden.

    Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!