Princess: Stepping Out of the Shadows, стр. 80

of her career as a writer when she returned to America. She met and made friends with Arab women from the Middle East before leaving Riyadh in 1992.

She was a freelance writer in war-torn Lebanon and in Kuwait before and after the First Gulf War. After living and travelling in the Middle East for so many years, she felt a special affection for the people of the region. After Saddam Hussein’s army invaded the country of Kuwait, Jean became concerned about the fate of the innocent Kuwaitis who were victims of the invaders. Her concern drove her to contact the Kuwaiti Ambassador to the United States, Sheik Saud Nasir al-Sabah, requesting his advice on travelling to areas housing Kuwaiti refugees.

Armed with a letter of introduction from the Kuwaiti Ambassador, Jean returned to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she conducted interviews with Kuwaitis. While in Riyadh, Kuwait’s Minister of Information invited her to fly to the Saudi mountain village Taif, where the Kuwaiti royals had formed a government-in-exile. There, she interviewed the Emir and the Crown Prince of Kuwait, among other high-ranking officials of that country.

After leaving Saudi Arabia, Jean travelled to Cairo, Egypt, and then to London, meeting many dozens of Kuwaiti citizens living in exile. Jean used the invaluable material she gathered about Kuwaitis on the day of the Iraqi invasion to write her bestselling book, The Rape of Kuwait.

The book sold over a million copies in one month, proving to the world that ordinary people truly cared about the small country and its people. In fact, Jean was the first and only author to write about the innocent Kuwaitis who were caught in the cruel grip of the Iraqi invasion.

Her devotion to the cause won her an invitation to return there on a government-sponsored ‘Freedom Flight’. Staying a month in ravaged Kuwait, she joined in the joyful celebrations of their hard-won freedom, even as she mourned with those who had lost loved ones. Never forgetting what she had seen, over the years she continued her writings and concern for those who were still missing, lost to the Iraqi prison system, despite the many efforts made by the royals, as well as ordinary citizens, to gain their freedom.

Her affection for the people of the Middle East continued, taking her to unusual stories that other writers and journalists missed. In 1998, she requested an invitation from Saddam Hussein to visit Iraq. Although she was the author of the book that had greatly displeased him (The Rape of Kuwait), she received a personal invite from the Iraqi dictator. Travelling to Iraq alone and without protection, she saw for herself the privations being suffered by those most vulnerable: the women and children. Her bestselling book Mayada, Daughter of Iraq was a result of that trip.

After her writing career was launched, with customary zeal Jean set off once again. With just her notes, computer and memories she shut herself in her house in Atlanta, Georgia, and wrote book after book. One of the most successful projects was the Princess Trilogy, a series of books about her friend, Princess Sultana al-Sa’ud, and named as one of the most important works written in the past eight hundred years by a woman.

Jean’s books have won a number of awards. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, an organization in Dubai which promotes and recognizes cross-cultural understanding, chose Jean’s critically acclaimed Ester’s Child as a book that best promotes world peace.

With a solid background of first-hand experience and years of travel, research and writing, Jean Sasson has become a Middle Eastern expert. She has made many appearances on national and international television programmes, as well as having been featured in many international newspaper and magazine articles. She has a huge following of readers from countries all over the world, which is confirmed by the number of her readers and her enormous social media following.

Soon Jean will write her memoir of spending so many years living and visiting in the Middle East. This long-awaited book will reveal her many personal and compelling adventures in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait and Iraq.

Also by Jean Sasson

Non-fiction:

The Rape of Kuwait: The True Story of the Iraqi Atrocities Against a Civilian Population

Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia

Daughters of Arabia (Princess Sultana’s Daughters in US)

Desert Royal (Princess Sultana’s Circle in US)

Mayada, Daughter of Iraq: One Woman’s Survival Under Saddam Hussein

Love in a Torn Land: One Woman’s Daring Escape from Iraq

Growing up bin Laden: Osama’s wife and Son Take Us Inside Their Secret World

For the Love of a Son: One Afghan Woman’s Quest for Her Stolen Child

American Chick in Saudi Arabia

Yasmeena’s Choice: A True Story of War, Rape, Courage and Survival

Princess: More Tears to Cry

Princess: Secrets to Share

Historical Fiction:

Ester’s Child

For additional information about Jean Sasson and her books, please visit:

http://www.JeanSasson.com

Blog: http://jeansasson.wordpress.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJeanSasson

Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeansasson

ASK: http://ask.fm/jeansasson

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First published in Great Britain in 2018 by Bantam Press

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Jean Sasson has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

This book is a work of non-fiction. In some cases names have been changed to protect the privacy of others.

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Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781473560253

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