Rarely do I say of a memoir that "I couldn't put it down," but that was my experience as I read Shackled: One Woman's Dramatic Triumph Over Persecution, Gender Abuse, and a Death Sentence, by Miriam Ibraheem. I received a copy of the book when I heard the author tell her story in April.

Ibraheem, born in a refugee camp in Sudan, lost her (abusive) father when she was six, and her mother raised her in the ultra-minority Christian faith. After she married a man who professed Christianity and had a son, Ibraheem was arrested by authorities who insisted she was Muslim because of her father's background. That meant she had broken Sharia law for marrying a non-Muslim. For this she went to jail, and when she refused to renounce her faith, she was sentenced to 100 lashes and death by hanging. While in jail, she gave birth (with her legs in shackles) to her second child. Her memoir follows her dramatic story as she faces death rather than deny her faith. Both Christians and Muslims from several governments worked to protect her and help her fight for religious freedom.

Shackled provides true-life snapshots of poverty, domestic violence, the fight for survival in a refugee camp, resourcefulness, life under Sharia law, and the courageous souls willing to fight for justice. But most of all, it's the story of how the Spirit gives and sustains life far beyond temporal living.

Inspiring. Shocking. Motivating. This well-crafted story kept me up late till I finished its final page.