Jean Sasson has 8 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.9★ across 27 ratings. The most-rated is Princess.
Princess
Summary
Princess describes the life of Princess Sultana Al Sa'ud, a princess in the royal house of Saudi Arabia. Hidden behind her black veil, she is a prisoner, jailed by her father, her husband, and her country. Sultana tells of appalling oppressions, everyday occurrences that in any other culture would be seen as shocking human rights violations: 13-year-old girls forced to marry men five times their age; young women killed by drowning, stoning, or isolation in the "women's room". Princess is a testimony to a woman of indomitable spirit and courage, and you will never forget her or her Muslim sisters. A New York Times best-seller, Princess was named one of the 500 Great Books by Women Since 1300. It was also an Alternate Selection of the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club and a Reader's Digest Selection.
©2004 The Sasson Corporation (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Princess Sultana's Circle
Summary
With Princess Sultana's Circle, the extraordinary story of Princess Sultana continues. The forced marriage of Sultana's niece to a cruel and depraved older man, and Sultana's discovery of the harem of sex slaves kept by a royal cousin, makes this brave royal princess more determined than ever to fight the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia. Princess Sultana's cause is given an extra sense of urgency against the background of increased dissent against the Al Sa'uds, and the looming specter of Islamic fundamentalism. But an extended family "camping trip" in the desert brings the luxury-loving Sultana and relatives closer to their nomadic roots, and gives her the strength to carry on the fight for women's rights in all Muslim countries. This book paints a horrifying reality for women of the desert kingdom. It is a haunting look at the danger of Saudi male dominance and the desperate lives of the women they rule.
©2011 The Sasson Corporation (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Princess Sultana's Daughters
Summary
Listeners of Princess were gripped by Jean Sasson's powerful indictment of women's lives behind the veil. Now, in the compelling sequel, Jean Sasson and Princess Sultana turn the spotlight on Sultana's two teenage daughters, Maha and Amani. As second-generation members of the royal family who have benefited from Saudi oil wealth, Maha and Amani are surrounded by untold opulence and luxury from the day they were born. And yet, they are stifled by the unbearably restrictive lifestyle imposed on them, driving them to desperate measures. Throughout, Sultana and Sasson never tire of their quest to expose the injustices which society levels against women. Princess Sultana once more strikes a chord among all women who are lucky enough to have the freedom to speak out for themselves.
©2011 The Sasson Corporation (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Growing Up bin Laden
Summary
"I was not always the wife of Osama bin Laden. Once I was an innocent child dreaming little girl dreams." Thus begins this powerful story by Najwa bin Laden, who married her cousin Osama bin Laden at the age of 15 to become his first wife and the mother to 11 of his children, and her son, Omar bin Laden, the fourth-born son of Osama bin Laden. Together, mother and son tell an extraordinarily powerful story of a man hated by so many yet both loved and feared by his family, with spine-tingling details about the life and times of the man they knew as a husband and father, including: Osama's disapproval of modern conveniences, including electricity and medicine His plan to toughen up his sons by taking them into the desert without food or water Transporting his wives and children to the rough terrain of Sudan, where he claimed to be preparing them for attacks from Western powers, commanding them to dig holes and to sleep in those holes, allowing nothing more than sand and twigs for cover Omar's horror at the rape and murder of a boy his own age by members of a jihadist group living among them in the Sudan What happened in the bin Laden home in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the morning of September 11, 2001, and Omar's surprise phone call with his mother, who escaped from Afghanistan only two days before the shattering events that killed so many innocent people Since September 11, 2001, journalists have struggled to uncover carefully guarded information about Osama's private life. Until now, Osama bin Laden's family members have not cooperated with any writers or journalists. Now, with unprecedented access and insight, Jean Sasson, author of the best-selling Princess: A True Story Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia, takes us inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden.
©2009 Jean Sasson (P)2009 Tantor
Princess, More Tears to Cry
Summary
When Jean Sasson's book Princess: Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia was published, it became an immediate international best seller. It sold to 43 countries and spent 13 weeks on The New York Times best seller list. Now, in this long-awaited, compelling new book, Sasson and Princess Sultana return to tell the world what it means to be a Saudi woman today. Through advances in education and with access to work, Saudi women are breaking through barriers; they are becoming doctors, social workers, business owners. Major steps forward have been made. But this is not the whole story. Sadly, despite changes in the law, women are still subjected to terrible suppression, abuse, and crimes of psychological and physical violence. For many, the struggle for basic human rights continues. Princess, More Tears To Cryreveals the intimate struggles of Saudi women inside one of the richest, most conservative kingdoms in the world. These are stories of triumph and heartbreak amongst the highest- and lowest-born. Princess Sultana speaks frankly about her strong-willed daughters, her beloved husband and the contentious Al-Saud family whose daily battles about what it means to be a woman in Saudi Arabia mirror those of the society at large. Princess, More Tears To Cry is an unforgettable journey into the hearts and minds of Saudi women, and will be forever etched into the memory of listeners.
©2014 The Sasson Corporation (P)2014 Audible Inc.
Princess, Secrets to Share
Summary
As the world's attention traces the reluctant social advances in the Middle East, Princess Sultana and her female friends and family have stepped forward to rescue young women in the region who are cruelly mistreated by their husbands, their fathers, and the brutish ISIS soldiers who kidnap them. But inside the Princess' lavish Saudi Arabian palace, sparks of anger and bolts of fear crackle because of the secrets kept to forward her efforts to help women and children. Kareem is furious when Sultana guards Maha's secret to volunteer to help traumatized children at a refugee camp in Turkey. When a beautiful Yemeni woman visits the royal palaces of Saudi Arabia, Sultana is saddened yet mesmerized to be told the story of the woman's seven marriages. Meanwhile, Kareem’s father takes a new wife - and Princess Sultana is blamed.
©2014 The Sasson Corporation (P)2015 Audible, Inc.
For the Love of a Son
Summary
From the time she was a little girl, Maryam rebelled against the terrible second-class existence that was her destiny as an Afghan woman. She had witnessed the miserable fate of her grandmother and three aunts, and wished she had been born a boy. As a feisty teenager in Kabul, she was outraged when the Russians invaded her country. After she made a public show of defiance, she had to flee the country for her life. A new life of freedom seemed within her grasp, but her father arranged a traditional marriage to a fellow Afghan, who turned out to be a violent man. Beaten, raped, and abused, Maryam found joy in the birth of a baby son. But then her brutal husband stole him away far beyond his mother's reach. For many long years she searched for her lost son, while civil war and Taliban oppression raged back home in Afghanistan. Set against a landscape littered with tragic tales of horrific suffering, Jean Sasson, author of Princess, chronicles the story of one resolute but tormented woman determined to achieve freedom and equality with men.
©2010 The Sasson Corporation (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Yasmeena's Choice
Summary
This is the true story of Yasmeena, a bright and beautiful young Lebanese woman who was imprisoned in Kuwait during the first Gulf War. Yasmeena's shocking journey is a tale of the madness of war, of the sexual brutality unleashed by chaos, and of one woman’s courage to stand in danger’s way to aid her fellow sufferers. This is an explicit, graphic, and honest book. It is for mature audiences only. Jean Sasson has spent her career sharing the personal stories of courageous Middle Eastern women. Princess: Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia was an international bestseller. It has become a classic, taught in colleges and high schools and devoured by anyone who aspires to understand the Middle East. Yasmeena was quite literally an innocent abroad. She was a college educated, English-speaking flight attendant graced with an unusual amount of confidence and sophistication. She was also a virgin and a conservative Muslim daughter and sister. When Yasmeena's flight out of Kuwait was delayed, it was because Saddam Hussein had just invaded Kuwait. Iraqi soldiers threw her into a woman's prison where the guards committed ghastly sexual attacks and tortured the women in excruciating ways.After Yasmeena was brutalized by the captain of the prison, she thought she was the most unfortunate woman on earth. But that was before she befriended Lana, whose brutal rapist took glee in inflicting hurt. Yasmeena used her position as the captain's favorite to protect her friend, though she also was forced into a wrenching decision. Yasmeena's Choice reads like a thriller. As the Americans and other allies march into Kuwait and the Iraqis flee, Yasmeena escapes. Eventually she finds a safe harbor where Sasson interviews her and records every horrific element of her experience. Sasson has wanted to write this story for many years. But she knew that the sexual explicitness and violence would make the tale difficult to publish. A year ago, Yasmeena's story and the choices she was forced to make invaded Sasson’s dreams. She realized that now was the right time to share the story. And so here it is, Sasson's testament to an articulate, angry, brave young woman who not only survived but who was eager to share her story with the world.
©2013 The Sasson Corporation (P)2014 Audible, Inc.