Amanda Lindhout thought she would teach herself to be a journalist in 2008, when she set out as a freelance writer to tell stories from one of the most dangerous places in the world.
She didn’t become a journalist, but she ended up with a harrowing story to tell: while en-route to a refugee camp, she was apprehended by militants in Somalia and held hostage for 460 days.
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Most people will have heard her name for the first time when she was forced by her captors to call a Canadian television station and read a note that said:
“My name is Amanda Lindhout and I am a Canadian citizen and I’ve been held hostage by gunmen in Somalia for nearly 10 months. I’m in a desperate situation.
I’m being kept in a dark, windowless room in chains without any medicine so I’m begging my government and my fellow citizens to assist me in putting pressure on my government.”
Thankfully, her story had a good ending. She returned, wrote a book and has become an inspirational speaker. But, she still suffers from post-traumatic stress.
Now she shares the coping mechanisms she used to get through her captivity and return to a healthy state of mind. She will do so in Calgary as the keynote lunch speaker at the Women of Inspiration Awards on Sept. 30. Tickets are available here.
LISTEN: Amanda Lindhout, keynote lunch speaker at the Women of Inspiration awards
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