Not Easily Washed Away: Memoirs Of A Muslim's Daughter
Not Easily Washed Away is the true story of Laila Hassan. Born to a Muslim family in Pakistan, she suffers sexual, mental and physical abuse for fifteen years by her father, Abdulla Hassan. Laila decides to take advantage of her father’s incestuous addiction by having him acquire a visa for her to the United States, where she feels as if she can rid herself of a putrid pas...more
ebook, 259 pages
Published
July 12th 2010
by Brian Arthur Levene
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This book literally made me ache deep in my heart. Just to read about the things this woman experienced, and all the things she had to do just to get her basic human rights. It's hard enough being an abused woman here in the USA where we have shelters and other sources to help us out of the situation. Imagine living in Muslim society as an abused woman, well that's exactly what happened to the woman sharing her horrific life story in this book.
I was drawn into this womans account of abuse so muc...more
I was drawn into this womans account of abuse so muc...more
Do yourself a favor, download the free sample before you spend $9 on this book. The writing style and lack of editing make for a less than enjoyable read. This book will make you wish you could go back in time and unread it.
I would also like to add that since posting my review I have been contacted repeatedly by the authors basically telling me to delete my review. proof of this is on my amazon review where brian denied ever telling me to delete it. I posted in it's entirety, one of his emails t...more
I would also like to add that since posting my review I have been contacted repeatedly by the authors basically telling me to delete my review. proof of this is on my amazon review where brian denied ever telling me to delete it. I posted in it's entirety, one of his emails t...more
I'm finally getting to this. I'll keep it short and sweet. It sucks. It's the biggest piece of dog shit I've ever encountered.
I'd bet my life savings that 99% of the reviews on here accompany ratings of more than 1 star are fake. Go to amazon.com, look up this book, and read the comments. The "authors" proceeded to get so angry over a few negative reviews there that they not only started stalking the reviewers but they made fake accounts to pretend to be other people to say the book is "great"....more
I'd bet my life savings that 99% of the reviews on here accompany ratings of more than 1 star are fake. Go to amazon.com, look up this book, and read the comments. The "authors" proceeded to get so angry over a few negative reviews there that they not only started stalking the reviewers but they made fake accounts to pretend to be other people to say the book is "great"....more
First let me say, I read this book within a 24 hour period. In my opinion about the first half of the book went over very smoothly. However half way through it was as though somebody else was telling the story. I understand that this is an uncorrected proof, but it does not change that I did have a hard time reading this book from front to back. It is very easy to tell that the person wrote this book, that their first language is NOT english. I have read many books on this subject matter and I h...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Jun 11, 2011
Amber Carson
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Any older reader aware of the graphic nature of this book
Recommended to Amber by:
An ebook group on facebook
I want to first start by saying that I did in fact buy this book for my nook through Barnes & Noble. I was not given a copy for free and I did actually use my money to buy this book. I felt like that needed to be said after reading so many comments on other reviews stating that people only rated this book positively due to the fact they were given a copy for free.
Not every book is for everybody, with so many books available out there you have the freedom to pick and choose what you want to...more
Not every book is for everybody, with so many books available out there you have the freedom to pick and choose what you want to...more
Sick relationship with a man who gets her pregnant and distorts her exaggerated lies into tremendous lies. Pity the family of this demented girl who is spireling down into the depths of despair with her lies to not only Brian Levene but also her family. This book is slanderous to everyone who is mentioned here including the studipity of Mr. Levene to believe them. I am from Pakistan and I know this girl from school and lived near her. She ran away to america for freedom from Pakistani tradition....more
Gave up at 80% and had skimmed the last 20% of that amount.
Unfortunately abuse can affect people in different ways and i can fully understand and believe Laila's personality. Scenes described felt very authentic in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan its just that it wasn't very well written at all and I just couldn't keep going with it. Should have had a lot of editing and sorting out before publishing especially as it was set at quite a high price initially. There was a lot of rambling and repetitivenes...more
Wasn't sure what to expect but with all the reviews good and bad figured I read it. It really was a heartbreaking story as I have seen other reviewers say. It seems hard to believe that this would happen to someone for so long and I'm sure it is happening frequently and we just don't hear about it. This is a story worth telling and hopes that children around the world could be protected from abuse. Open up your eyes and see what children are enduring at the hands of their own parents. People tha...more
Numbing, shocking, heartbreaking, a story that will leave you wondering how Laila may even begin to heal.
I received a complimentary ebook copy of Not Easily Washed Away for review from Levene. I was not sure what to expect when I started reading this story since it begins innocently enough. A poor family in Pakistan one of hundreds living their lives in a culture with their own morals and values. It did not take long before Laila begins the nightmare that so consumed her everyday. Laila had her...more
I received a complimentary ebook copy of Not Easily Washed Away for review from Levene. I was not sure what to expect when I started reading this story since it begins innocently enough. A poor family in Pakistan one of hundreds living their lives in a culture with their own morals and values. It did not take long before Laila begins the nightmare that so consumed her everyday. Laila had her...more
There seems to be mix reviews on this book, I had to get it to see what everyone was talking about. I thought this book was great.
This was a quick book to read. Read it 1/2 hr a night, before bed and was done in a week. It was heart wrenching to read what Laila had to go through for so long. It is sad to see how women and children are treated in other cultures, though I do know that stuff like this happens in the U.S. also.
I hope Laila continues to seek help and I hope this book can be helpful a...more
This was a quick book to read. Read it 1/2 hr a night, before bed and was done in a week. It was heart wrenching to read what Laila had to go through for so long. It is sad to see how women and children are treated in other cultures, though I do know that stuff like this happens in the U.S. also.
I hope Laila continues to seek help and I hope this book can be helpful a...more
I thought this was a great book, with a heartbreaking story that will pull you in immediately. Very few books have made me experience such a variety of emotions like the ones I felt while reading this one. Leila's story is one that would touch anyone, and that anyone can enjoy. Though her situation saddened me at first, it was very empowering to see her get out of the struggle she was in. This story helps me to remember there is a bright light at the end of every tunnel. Though I don't usually r...more
May 01, 2011
Jeannie
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
no one I can think of unless they want to be tortured
Recommended to Jeannie by:
the author, big mistake!
Shelves:
i-own
This book doesn't even deserve a half-a-star rating.
Unquestionably, in my opinion, one of the most poorly written books I have ever had the misfortune to read. Sadly for me, since I was so pumped about reading this book.
The author, Brian A Levene, posted that the first 20 people to friend him on GoodReads would receive a free copy and since it sounded interesting and was the type of book I truly love I friended him. I finally received my copy after numerous delays relating to what Brian said w...more
Unquestionably, in my opinion, one of the most poorly written books I have ever had the misfortune to read. Sadly for me, since I was so pumped about reading this book.
The author, Brian A Levene, posted that the first 20 people to friend him on GoodReads would receive a free copy and since it sounded interesting and was the type of book I truly love I friended him. I finally received my copy after numerous delays relating to what Brian said w...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Aug 23, 2011
Lisa
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Lisa by:
I won this through Goodreads - First reads
Shelves:
first-reads
I had heard some negative comments about this book and decided to ignore those and find out for myself. There are a lot of books about "abuse" on the market and often you read some of them and they tend to be so similar you wonder if they are all true. I had no doubts with this one whatsoever and I was not disappointed in the slightest with this book. It was totally different from others that I had read, in that the narrator of the book came from Pakistan and was a muslim, as was the offender.
I...more
I...more
"I won this on Goodreads and was very excited to start it. I had the unedited version which made it more difficult because of the many typos and errors in the sentences and how it affected the continuity of the book. Maybe because of my own inability to completely understand sexual abuse and it's affects, I had a hard time with this book. On one level I understand that sexual abuse starting at such an early age with one's own father, it would skew what the girl would think sex is about. But as a...more
I as most of you know am a big fan of memoirs..this one being no different. Was in love with the authors right from chapter one. Written simply perfect IMO. This is such a tough subject to write about. You have to decide how candid you are going to be that is for sure. Ask yourself how much is to much to share with the world? It has to be a hard choice to make to put yourself out there for all to see. Doing so in my eyes makes you a very brave soul.
First off, if this is how most women in that co...more
First off, if this is how most women in that co...more
Do yourself a favour - don't waste your time and money on this book! It's one of the worst books I've read:
- the writing style is appalling! The main character, Layla, is one you will totally fail to have empathy with - you wouldn't consider her as a victim of abuse, but rather a woman who is conniving and manipulative. The choices she made are hard to understand and come to terms with!
- the writing style is appalling! The main character, Layla, is one you will totally fail to have empathy with - you wouldn't consider her as a victim of abuse, but rather a woman who is conniving and manipulative. The choices she made are hard to understand and come to terms with!
Apr 15, 2011
Mazohyst (Edel)
marked it as to-read-asap
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
first-reads
Won throughFirst Reads.
Currently still waitng for my copy of the book.
Currently still waitng for my copy of the book.
Won Not Easily Washed Away: Memoirs Of A Muslim's Daughter by Brian Arthur Levene as a first reads giveaway. The subject matter of abuse is always difficult to read and I'm happy that Anon was able to survive and overcome the challenges she faced. It was also interesting to learn about different cultures and religions. I read it fairly quickly as I had a hard time putting it down.
I received this book through First Reads.
The story of Laila's abuse at the hands of those she trusted was heartbreaking. The love between two sisters added to the heartbreak as their pain was shared.
My favorite aspect of this book was reading about a different culture. It was saddening to see that abuse occurs in all walks of life - not just America.
The story of Laila's abuse at the hands of those she trusted was heartbreaking. The love between two sisters added to the heartbreak as their pain was shared.
My favorite aspect of this book was reading about a different culture. It was saddening to see that abuse occurs in all walks of life - not just America.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Paperback will be published!! | 1 | 14 | Jan 09, 2011 09:58am |

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