Edith Blais

I received this book from LTER. The author was kidnapped and held hostage in the Western Sahara. The story is interspersed with poems she wrote while in captivity. Unfortunately, as this was an advanced reader’s copy, all the poems from the second half of the book were missing in my copy. The story itself was interesting and very informative about that part of Africa. Their dire situation was compelling especially since I really wasn’t sure about the outcome of her companion. Generally a good read.… (altro)

Free spirit Edith, a Canadian, and her sometimes-boyfriend Luca, an Italian, are no strangers to adventure. Travel and experiences fuel their spirit. In that vein, Edith has heard from a friend how beautiful and inspirational Africa is, and decides that's the next place she wants to explore.

After meeting up with Luca, Edith's longtime travel buddy, the two head off on the adventure of a lifetime, starting in Europe. Making their way to the tip of Spain, they cross to Africa and start making their way south to Edith's friend's homeland.

Their experiences along the way reaffirm their faith in humanity and the resilience of a people who have so little, yet are willing to share everything they have. That is, until they encounter a group of armed men who decide the only thing they want is the two white-skinned people they've heard are travelling alone in their country.

For the next 15 months, Luca and Edith are held hostage with no idea where they are and when they'll be free again. Initially, the two are kept together in somewhat livable circumstances. As time goes by, however, the two are separated and their living conditions and their food and water become very sparse.

Edith recounts her side of the story in vivid detail, remembering more than I'm sure she would like. I do not recall hearing about these two and their harrowing ordeal at the time (only a couple of years ago), however Edith says as quiet as she's kept about what happened to them, this is the first time she is publicly telling her story. I found it to be an incredibly intriguing story, well written, and something I'd never wish on my worst enemy. I won this book from LibraryThing.… (altro)

Edith and her travel companion Luca are taken hostage by Islamic jihadists while traveling through Burkina Faso on their way to meet a friend in Togo. They are moved to various locations (and between several groups) throughout the vast desert regions of Mali for 450 days. Eventually separated from one another, the story is mostly Edith's for many months, until her reunification with Luca and the story moves toward the details of their journey back to freedom. Much of Edith's captivity was spent entirely alone, though she met some fellow women hostages during her ordeal, for whom the reader will also feel much grief and horror at their situation. The isolation, terrible living conditions, and horrible food all took their toll on Edith, but this is a tale of survival and the human spirit. Edith writes that she and Luca learned "not to take anything for granted. We become aware of what we have once we have lost it, only then do we see that the richness of life is in the simplest things."… (altro)

I held off on my review of The Weight of Sand for several weeks as I it left me with so much to think about. I found Edith Blais's story of captivity in the Sahara fascinating especially since I hadn't heard about her story in the news. I can't imagine how difficult it was for her to spend 450 days in captivity in the harsh climate of the desert and especially without her contacts. I wish she would have explained more about the research and planning she did for her trip; it didn't seem like it was a very wise choice to travel through the countries she did. As for the publisher/editor, I did not like the subtitle of "My 450 Days Held Hostage..." I would have like the suspense of not knowing when her captivity would end. I also would have liked the map that was at the end of the book to be in the beginning (this is what I have seen in other similar books). Since I didn't even know there was a map in the book, I wasn't able to reference it while I was reading, which I would have liked to do. I am grateful Ms. Blais shared her story. I am in awe of her strength and resilience.… (altro)