"In 2011, Samar Yazbek, an outspoken critic of Assad's regime, was forced into exile. When the uprising in Syuria turned to bloodshed she tried to alert the world but her pleas were ignored. Determined to take action, Yazbek secretly crossed the border back into her homeland - the first of three brave return journeys. As the only Syrian writer to travel widely through the northern 'liberated' area under rebel control, she worked with local activists to help the people however she could and witnessed their suffering and courage. From the first peaceful demonstrations for democracy to the arrival of ISIS, here are the lives of soldiers, children, ordinary men and women struggling to survive. Yazbek shares their stories of unbearable brutality, and of the humanity that can flower amidst destruction"--Publisher's description.