In the vein of Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Infidel and Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone, Somaly Mam’s life is an unforgettable and inspiring story of triumph over unthinkable adversity, and puts a face and a voice to a human-rights disaster of global proportions.

Born in a village deep in the Cambodian forest, Mam was sold into sexual slavery by her grandfather when she was twelve years old. For the next decade she was shuttled through the brothels that make up the sprawling sex trade industry of Southeast Asia. Trapped in this dangerous and desperate world, she suffered the brutality and horrors of human trafficking—rape, torture, deprivation—until she managed to escape with the help of a French aid worker. Emboldened by her newfound freedom, education, and security, Mam blossomed but remained haunted by the girls in the brothels she left behind.

Written in exquisite, spare, unflinching prose, The Road of Lost Innocence recounts the experiences of her early life and tells the story of her awakening as an activist, and her harrowing and brave fight against the powerful and corrupt forces that steal the lives of these girls. Mam has orchestrated raids on brothels and rescued sex workers, some as young as five and six; she has built shelters, started schools, and founded an organization that has so far saved more than 3,400 women and children in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. Her memoir, an international bestseller, will leave you awestruck by the tenacity and courage of this modern-day heroine and will renew your faith in the power of an individual to bring about change.