The Road to Lost Innocence - Somaly Mam

The Road to Lost Innocence - Somaly Mam (2008)

I'll have to start with giving this book a grand 5/5. Why? Well it is one that will stay with me for a long time. Somaly is a Cambodian girl, who at 16 years old is sold into sexual slavery by her grandfather. In this non-fiction book, she describes her plight during 10 years in various brothels in South East Asia, until she is rescued by a French Humanitarian Aid Worker.

After escaping the brothels, she then seeks to rescue other girls who have also been sold into brothels, many as young as 5 and 6 years old. The statistics are staggering in this novel, with one third of the prostitutes in Phnom Peng being a young child (pg 185) and that 1 in 40 girls born in Cambodia will be sold into sex slavery (forward).

The story is blunt, and its descriptions of the treatment of the girls is brutal and disturbing, but how can you turn away from what is happening to these girls? I think as well, that my stomach turns at the thought of people going to these countries on holiday to abuse small children. Shame on you, it makes me cringe that people could do such horrid revolting things to children, with such disregard for them and treating them like a piece of rubbish.

Even though I wanted to stop reading at several stages, it is such a powerful story, and you have to admire her courage for trying to force change. What an awesome job Somaly Mam is doing.