Book Review: Princess Trilogy

I finally finished the trilogy I'd been reading through over the last several months. Author Jean Sasson, who lived inside Saudi Arabia many years ago, provides the megaphone for the secret stories of one of the royal family's own (whom Sasson befriended during her years living in KSA). She writes on behalf of Princess Sultana-- a strong woman and a powerful advocate against misogyny & women's oppression and for the rights & freedom of women within her country.

The trilogy is conceived as a three part look into the Princess' life & her surroundings. First, her own journey growing up as a girl inside Saudi in Princess. Next, the journey of her 2 daughters, who now help her see the gravity of the women's issues in her land, in Princess Sultana's Daughters. And finally, from the broader perspective of the women who've passed through her life and their own diverse experiences of being a woman in Saudi in Princess Sultana's Circle.

I am a fan of biographies in general, but this one was especially moving to me because it covered so many issues close to my heart. She describes with such brutal honesty her own witnessing of things like rape & child rape, forced marriage, the slave & sex slave trade, beatings, female genital mutilation, sequestering of women for punishment... the list goes on & on. She describes some of the darkest sides of humanity. And it is at times painful to read. Especially when you think too long on the fact that this is all a reality that I can do nothing to change. Apart from pray for God's intervention.

I admit to feeling helpless to intervene. A few year's ago, while at a conference in the Middle East, I asked some local men how I could get involved in helping to impact these women's issues in this part of the world. And although these men were great leaders, and even followers of Christ, they replied to me: "You can do nothing. There is too much money & too much power involved on the part of the perpetrators for you to make a difference." Period. That was all they said. I was stunned at their answer. So frank and so tragic. I wished there was an IJM for the Middle East.

Reading these books repeatedly broke my heart, made me sick, made me cry, and made me feel the weight of a hurting life for so many women in the world today. And yet, I'd still strongly recommend this series for anyone to read. It gave me hope that people like Princess Sultana could make a far greater impact that I could. I thank God for her life and for her passion. And I can recognize that, although slow, progress in being made through simple acts like her speaking up.