I Choose My Beginning : A Story of Courage and Activism

In 2014, Nadia Murad was living in northern Iraq when her world was shattered. Fighters from the so-called Islamic State attacked her village, massacring hundreds - including her mother and six of her brothers - and forcing her, along with thousands of Yazidi women and girls, into ISIS's system of sexual slavery. Her life since then has been split in two. In one she is a global symbol of courage - a survivor and activist who has stood before world leaders to demand justice. In the other, she is a woman learning how to be a friend, a student, a wife; a woman rediscovering ordinary joy.

In I Choose My Beginning , Nadia brings these two selves together. With honesty and grace, she transforms the pain of her past into a life defined not by what was done to her, but by strength, perseverance, and the freedom to choose happiness. From reshaping international law to building a life filled with friendship and love, Nadia carries the memory of those she lost and those who survived. Their presence reminds her - and all of us - that she has always been more than a victim.

Powerful and deeply inspiring, I Choose My Beginning is the story of an extraordinary woman reclaiming her humanity - and showing that survival is not the end of the story. It is the beginning.

Author: Nadia Murad

Autobiography: historical, political & military, Feminism & feminist theory, Political activism

Published on 17 Sep 2026 by Little, Brown Book Group.