Review of Trafficked by Sophie Hayes

I really had to post a review of this book which is an unequalled example of triumph over adversity and of finding inspiration through tragedy.

By way of introduction, we learn that Sophie comes from a middle-class family. She has never felt good enough for her father, who was abusive to her mother, her brother and Sophie herself before her parents separated. She achieved good grades throughout school, although she opted not to go to university. Her first love was deported back to home country and while she dithers about whether or not to marry him so that he can return to England with her, fate takes the decision out of her hands as she is admitted to hospital and is unable even to let him know what has happened. When she recovers, the window of opportunity has passed.

She reconnects online with a good friend she met several years earlier who has since moved abroad. When he invites her to meet him in Paris, she does not hesitate and has a wonderful time. So, when he next invites her to meet him in Italy, she looks forward to it. But this is where her nightmare begins.

Shortly after her arrival in Italy, she is told that her friend owes thousands to drug lords and then she must "work off the debt". Forced into prostitution by someone she trusted, who now threatens her and her family back in England if she doesn't comply, she is psychologically tortured, mentally beaten and physically abused. Told that the police are in his pocket and with him monitoring her phone calls to her family, she has nowhere to turn.

I won't ruin the denouement by describing how she escapes - nor what happens next (let's just say her nightmare is not over even after she is reunited with her family). I do nonetheless want to reassure readers that her story ends on a high note that truly demonstrates that love can triumph over the odds and that the human spirit is more resilient than we can ever comprehend. Sophie is without question one of the strongest and the truly "good" people in this world; even if, to the end, you don't feel that she believes it.

And it is arguably this which makes the book so readable: even in the depths of despair, Sophie is undeniably engaging yet self-deprecating, introspective but realistic, managing to share the details of her ordeal in a way that touches your soul without dragging you down. A fine line to walk but achieved with a mixture of finesse and innocence that makes you want to cry when you think of everything she went through, and how she emerged a sensitive, caring young woman determined to improve the world for other people.

Learn more www.sophiehayesfoundation.org/