Buried Alive, Roy Hallums

“Buried Alive”, by Roy Hallums is an extremely thought provoking true story of being kidnapped and held by extremists in Iraq. The story is told through and by the author, Roy Hallums as he takes the reader from the being to the end of a very painful and secluded imprisonment. Most of the time, he is held underground and literally buried alive by his captors.
As you pick up this book, you see the shadow of a man who appears to be in a seated position, with his hands behind his back, probably tied and his eyes are blindfolded. It appears that he is in a dark place and very uncomfortable. Reading the introduction gives you just a brief look into what this man went through for so many days and months. I can only imagine the courage and fortitude he had to endure such treatment and conditions.
Hallums tells his story in a matter of fact and simple way which brings the reader right into the scenes as well as giving the reader such vivid detail that no one can miss the terror he must have felt, with the beatings and degradation. Once can only guess how he felt, not knowing whether he was going to come out this terror alive or would he be beheaded like so many in the past had been.
It seems strange to point out here that this story was told in vivid and chilling detail, and this reader could not put the book down. You will become completely absorbed into the story, waiting to find out what is going to happen next. !!!
What can be learned from the story, is that with the right mind set and courage, even the most brutal of conditions can be overcome. Hallums appears to be a man of faith and he spent a lot of time praying and thinking about his family. He endured the conditions and initial movements from one site to the next, with a hope of survival and eventual rescue.
Another segment of his story deals with how his family dealt with his kidnapping. First the family is kept completely out of the loop of information, even to the point where officials were telling them not to speak to the media for fear that Hallums captors would find out more about the man they help captive. This could have been dangerous for Hallums as he is a retired U. S. Naval Commander, who was a civilian contractor in Iraq, at the time of his kidnapping.
The eventual rescue is also something to wait for.
This story is in deed a must read for anyone who wants to know exactly what happens to kidnap victims, however, as Hallums notes, he was lucky. Not all kidnap victims get out alive, and very seldom is there a successful escape. This story is rated 5 stars. A very compelling story, not to be missed.