The Dawn Prayer (or How to Survive in a Secret Syrian Terrorist Prison)
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The Dawn Prayer (or How to Survive in a Secret Syrian Terrorist Prison)
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Narrated by:
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Michael David Axtell
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By:
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Matthew Schrier
About this listen
A photographer captured in Syria and imprisoned for seven months recounts his story and how he became the first American ever to escape al-Qaeda.
"What is your name?" asked General Mohammad.
"Matthew," I said. I had stopped saying Matt a while ago because it means "dead" in Arabic.
On New Year's Eve in 2012, Matthew Schrier was headed home from Syria, where he'd been photographing the intense combat of the country's civil war. Just 45 minutes from the safety of the Turkish border, he was taken prisoner by the al-Nusra Front, an organization the world would come to know as the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda.
Over the next seven months he would endure torture and near starvation in six brutal terrorist prisons. He would face a daily struggle just to survive. And, eventually, he would escape. In this gripping, raw, and surprisingly funny memoir, Schrier details the horrifying and frequently surreal experience of being a slight, wisecracking Jewish guy held captive by the world's most violent Islamic extremists. Managing to keep his heritage a secret, Schrier used humor to develop relationships with his captors - and to keep himself sane during the long months of captivity.
The Dawn Prayer (or How to Survive in a Secret Syrian Terrorist Prison) is a tale of patriotism and unimaginable bleakness shot through with light, of despair and friendship, sacrifice and betrayal, in a setting of bombed-out buildings and shifting alliances. It's the story of the first Westerner to escape al-Qaeda - not a battle-hardened soldier, but an ordinary New Yorker who figured out how to set his escape plan in motion from a scene in Jurassic Park. From the prisoners' fiercely competitive hacky-sack games and volleyball tournaments (played using a ball made of shredded orange peels and a shoelace) to his own truly nail-biting breakout, Matthew Schrier's story is unforgettable - and one you won't want to miss.
©2018 Matthew Schrier (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.What listeners say about The Dawn Prayer (or How to Survive in a Secret Syrian Terrorist Prison)
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Samuel
- 07-02-2023
Great story, not sure about Theo
The story itself is amazing, I kind of felt sorry for his cell mate though
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Warrior
- 16-10-2021
Poor Theo
How much time needed to be spent complaining about his cell mate? A couple of paragraphs would have sufficed.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- mike tibbitts
- 25-09-2019
Don't go camping with Theo
The author mostly just complains about his cell mates. shame, could have been really interesting.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 01-03-2023
An interesting tail of surviving and ultimately escaping the hell one human can put another through
A topic quite foreign to most and one not many have any experience to speak on. It was interesting, and at times deeply concerning to hear of how one human can treat another. The friends and foes made along the way and the ways in which they fought, laughed, taught, supported and played together, given their circumstances.
I have heard there are conflicting accounts between the author and Theo, though I am yet to look into them.
I can understand the feeling of betrayal at a time and place where someone may be your only person on your side. My current impression is that of a personality clash and the emotionally volatile environment they were in. Whether that is anywhere near the the truth, is for me to find out and for you, if you so choose.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 10-04-2023
Screw Theo!
If half of the stories about Theo are true he is a real scumbag.
Very interesting story. Definitely worth the listen.
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