Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland

Amanda Berry · Gina DeJesus · Mary Jordan · Kevin Sullivan

Apr 2015 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

The #1 New York Times Bestseller

A bestselling book that is inspiring the nation: “We have written here about terrible things that we never wanted to think about again . . . Now we want the world to know: we survived, we are free, we love life.”

Two women kidnapped by infamous Cleveland school-bus driver Ariel Castro share the stories of their abductions, captivity, and dramatic escape
 
On May 6, 2013, Amanda Berry made headlines around the world when she fled a Cleveland home and called 911, saying: “Help me, I’m Amanda Berry. . . . I’ve been kidnapped, and I’ve been missing for ten years.”
 
A horrifying story rapidly unfolded. Ariel Castro, a local school bus driver, had separately lured Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight to his home, where he kept them chained. In the decade that followed, the three were raped, psychologically abused, and threatened with death. Berry had a daughter—Jocelyn—by their captor.
 
Drawing upon their recollections and the diary kept by Amanda Berry, Berry and Gina DeJesus describe a tale of unimaginable torment, and Pulitzer Prize–winning Washington Post reporters Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan interweave the events within Castro’s house with original reporting on efforts to find the missing girls. The full story behind the headlines—including details never previously released on Castro’s life and motivations—Hope is a harrowing yet inspiring chronicle of two women whose courage, ingenuity, and resourcefulness ultimately delivered them back to their lives and families.

Ratings and reviews

WHAT AN AWESOME BOOK. I'VE WATCHED THE MOVIE OVER A DOZEN TIMES BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL I READ THE BOOK THAT I FELT THAT I COULD UNDERSTAND WHAT ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE IN THAT HOUSE. YOU GIRLS ARE AMAZINGGGGGGGGG AND SO STRONG. AMANDA I SYMPATHIZE AS WELL AS EMPATHIZE WITH YOU THE MOST BECAUSE OF YOUR DAUGHTER. I TOO AM A VICTIM OF RAPE. I COULD IMAGINE HAVING MY RAPIST CHILD AND I APPLAUD YOU FOR LOVING HER UNCONDITIONALLY DESPITE THAT. READING THE BOOK I COULDNT HELP BUT TO FEEL LIKE JOCELYN WAS ALL YOU GIRLS HEROS. SHE SAVED YOU. SHE IS TRULY A CHILD A GOD , IN FACT BEING BORN CHRISTMAS DAY. I SEND LOVE AND HOPE BECAUSE YOU WOMEN GIVE WOMEN AND VICTIMS AND CHILDREN ALL OVER THE WORLD THE TITLE OG YOUR BOOK "HOPE". ALL THREE OF YOU WOMEN ARE SURVIVORS AND I UPLIFT YOU. STAY STRONG SAY HEALTHY AND MOST OF ALL STAY HAPPY!

I remember being their age when they disappeared and I always wondered what had happened. I can't imagine the nightmares that that sick twisted man gave to those parents and girls all those years. He took their innocence away and could care less........BUT....... Good always overcomes evil and this is a good example of that. I wish nothing but the best to these brave girls and thank them for opening up and sharing their story, that had to of taken extreme courage. I aapplaud you all for that and wish you a great future.

It's a real life story that got me thinking of how many more people like Castro are out in this world. I still need to read Michelle's book but what these women endured is admirable. So glad they escape and get to live a life as they wish to.

About the author

Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan are journalists for The Washington Post who write about national and foreign news. They are longtime foreign correspondents who have been based in Tokyo, Mexico City and London. Winners of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting, they are also the authors of The Prison Angel: Mother Antonia's Journey from Beverly Hills to a Life of Service in a Mexican Jail. They live in Washington, D.C., with their two children.