My Heart Is Not My Own

Ten years after returning from war-ravaged Sierra Leone, Dr. John Rourke receives a package in the mail. In his hand is the unfinished diary of his ex-lover, Mariama Lahai, the charismatic African nurse who disappeared ten years before on the day Rourke was evacuated from Freetown. The journal documents Mariama’s capture, rape and journey at the hands of the rebels but leaves unanswered the question that still haunts Rourke–did she survive?

Rourke embarks upon an odyssey that takes him into Mariama’s world of a child soldiers, bush-wives and African secret societies. It is a story of love, courage and resilience that is brought to life by the powerful voice of Mariama Lahai.

My Heart is Not My Own is a book about defining moments--of Mariama's, in her quest to survive, and John Rourke's, in a personal struggle for forgiveness and humility.

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