American Girls One Woman's Journey into the Islamic State and Her Sister's Fight to Bring Her Home [Audiobook]

With their daughter and Sam's child from a previous relationship, the couple moved to Raqqa, Syria, where Moussa fought for ISIS and Sam, who never even converted to Islam, attempted to survive and protect her children from airstrikes, extremist indoctrination, and the brutality of the ISIS system. In Raqqa, Sam's oldest son appeared in several Islamic State propaganda videos, and she participated in ISIS's practice of enslaving Yezidi women and children. Sam says her husband coerced her to move, but Lori-who quit her job and worked tirelessly to try get Sam out of Syria-isn't so sure. American Girls combines an in-depth examination of Sam and Lori's lives with on-the-ground reporting from Iraq, providing listeners with a rare glimpse into the world of American women who join ISIS. Interweaving deeply reported narrative drama with expert analysis, the book explores how the subjugation and abuse experienced by women in the United States, women like Sam and Lori, are the same themes that enable the rise of patriarchal, extremist ideologies like the one espoused by ISIS. Fascinating, resonant, and moving, American Girls is an unforgettable journey-from small-town Arkansas to Raqqa, from domestic abuse to a militant terrorist organization-all told through the extraordinary story of two close, complicated sisters.