Escape from Manus Prison

Reviews

NOMINATED FOR THE 2023 HERITAGE TORONTO AWARDS

“There are few things more rewarding than coming across a book you have never heard of and, from the opening sentence finding yourself well and truly hooked. [. . .] He takes you with him on a journey that reads like an adventure but for the gut-wrenching fear and constant deprivation he and his fellow travellers must endure. And which he so poignantly describes. It is a true tale of an asylum seeker, one man’s story of the 90 million men, women and children worldwide fleeing injustice, pestilence, war or famine in search of not just a better life but life itself. [. . .] Escape from Manus Prison gives a face to the faceless, that vast tide of humanity forcibly displaced.” —Oakville News

“Stunning. This book should be on every reading list in the country. Stateless, without papers and too often without a drop of water to drink, Jaivet Ealom escapes Myanmar and the Rohingya genocide that continues to destroy his people. From Jakarta to Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, in sinking boats and cargo planes, he lives by his wit. In this world, babies drop to the bottom of the ocean and men are caged, beaten, numbered. A chance reading of Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning restores his soul enough to get him, still undocumented, to Toronto. Ealom writes, ‘The choice of how I responded, or who I wished to be, was still my own to make.’ We share Ealom’s world, and this choice is ours too. Read this book. Know who you wish to be.” —Kim Echlin, award-winning author of Speak, Silence

“An inspiring, eye-opening, harrowing, heartbreaking and triumphant journey that is testament to the resilience of the human spirit. The raw and vulnerable storytelling will touch you to your core and keep you spellbound till the last page. This book will restore your faith in the power of humanity that makes Canada the True North Strong and Free!” —Samra Zafar, bestselling author of A Good Wife: Escaping the Life I Never Chose

“This incredible, heart-stopping escape story is about shameful truths and spiritual authenticity; it’s about government sanctioned torture and it’s about redemption. Thank God Jaivet Ealom recorded his saga. From the merciless tactics of a government to the lyrical writing of a man who finds goodness in the face of evil, this book astonishes because it exposes the secret deals countries make to deny justice, and it takes you into the heart of a decent man. I couldn’t put it down and was almost breathless when I read the last page. My only unanswered question: Who will play Jaivet in the movie?” —Sally Armstrong, bestselling author of Power Shift: The Longest Revolution

“Jaivet's memoir has all the taut propulsion of a thriller, yet devastatingly, this is a story all too real. Escape From Manus Prison offers a first-hand account of the brutal treatment of refugees at every turn, from exploitative smugglers to the xenophobic policies of foreign governments.” —Camilla Gibb, bestselling author of Sweetness in the Belly and The Relatives

“Art, culture and writing: these are gifts and they are weapons. I'm proud of Jaivet for speaking out—for history, and for all of those whom history would silence.” —Behrouz Boochani, award-winning author of No Friend But the Mountains Expand reviews