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Stolen: The True Story of a Sex Trafficking Survivor
Stolen: The True Story of a Sex Trafficking Survivor
Stolen: The True Story of a Sex Trafficking Survivor
Audiobook5 hours

Stolen: The True Story of a Sex Trafficking Survivor

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

Sex trafficking is currently a hot news topic, but it is not a new problem or just a problem in "other" countries. Every year, an estimated 80,000 American children are lured into the sex trade, some as young as eight years old. It is thought that up to 90 percent of victims are never rescued. Stolen is the true story of one survivor who escaped--more than once. First recruited while staying with her family at a hotel in Miami Beach, Katariina Rosenblatt was already a lonely and abused young girl who was yearning to be loved. She fell into the hands of a confident young woman who pretended friendship but slowly lured her into a child prostitution ring. For years afterward, a cycle of false friendship, threats, drugs, and violence kept her trapped. As Kat shares her harrowing experiences, readers will quickly realize the frightening truth that these terrible things could have happened to any child--a neighbor, a niece, a friend, a sister, a daughter. But beyond that, they will see that there is real hope for the victims of sex trafficking. Stolen is more than a warning. It is a celebration of survival that will inspire.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 7, 2014
ISBN9781610459099
Author

Cecil Murphey

Cecil Murphey, author of 112 books, has also assisted well-known personalities in writing their biographies.

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Reviews for Stolen

Rating: 4.321428571428571 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is an amazing book! It has outstanding information as well as sharing the troubled past Kat endured. Human Trafficking is an epidemic and needs to be abolished! All victims need help.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Sex trafficking has been around for a long time and in many countries even our own but it is growing by leaps and bounds. The number of children becoming victims has risen at a frightening rate. I wanted to read this book to know what we as a nation and families are truly up against. What I learned was surprising. Ms. Rosenblatt very tastefully and discreetly shared her heartbreaking story of being a casualty child sex trafficking. I gained even more insight by her telling her story through her eyes as a child, their confusion, vulnerability, and innocence. Her account is one of courage and strength. She was drawn in 3 times and with the Lord’s help escaped. This sordid business has been fueled by youth having unlimited access to the internet in emails, Facebook, private chatrooms cell phones and texting. These tools have made it easy for the traffickers to prey on our kids. I also learned that they look for certain characteristics in children they target. This means boys and girls, some as young as the age of 9, but the average age is 12 – 14 years.She said they seek out children that are from homes of abuse, neglect, unstable marriages, and unsupervised in their activities and friends. The recruiters offer a child the love, attention, listening ear, and concern they lack and crave. After securing the child’s trust, promising them the family they always wanted, they kidnap them and force them into being sex slaves. The children are held there by force, fear, addiction to drugs and even a twisted sense of loyalty, thinking their pimps are the only ones that care about them. This is not a mere autobiography; it goes much further. The author accepted Christ as her Savior at a Billy Graham crusade when she was 12. Just 1 year before her first involvement. Burned into her mind and heart from that night was Mr. Graham saying, “Remember this: God will never leave you or forsake you.” God was to speak this to her many times in the years to come when she did not know what to do or where to turn. I saw a beautiful testimony of God’s love and personal involvement our lives. No matter how far we go into sin, or distant we become to the Lord, He still loves us and seeks to draw us back to Him. God never gave up on her. She shares how He rescued her and set her life on track to serve Him. She went on to go to college and obtained a PhD in conflict analysis and resolution. In addition she earned a LLM graduate law degree in intercultural human rights. The author works close with the FBI and Homeland Security to intervene and free children. In government she initiated laws to reform the labels place on trafficked youth that made them the criminals. She also established contacts with Christian groups to help children saved with physical, emotional, and many other needs to heal and live a normal life. Every person, not just parents, that has children in their life they love and care about needs to read this book! No one can say “it won’t happen to us.” This book is a wakeup call not only to what is happening but also to the need to be very involved in our children’s lives. An excellent book!I received this book free from Revell, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amazing! I have always wanted to volunteer and help stop child trafficking. After reading this, I feel it is my calling to help. What an amazing woman this is. To overcome so much abuse and look at you now! Saving the lives of other victims. Trafficking is real snd we all must get the word out and help stop this! I’ll be checking out the website to see how I can help. Thank you for sharing your devistating yet uplifting story. God has truly blessed you.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Couldn’t even finish it. I believe in god but it’s promoted way too much in this book
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Eye opening book on the dangers of human traffic here in America, which most, including myself before this book, don't realize is such a huge issue & can happen to anyone, including your own daughters & friends.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I sympathize but I was under the impression that she was stolen, rather than a willing participant. I’m glad she is able to help others.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Great book of witnessing salvation of a trafficked girl turned into someone passionate to free others too. God bless your works, your life has a reason and a mission. To God be the glory!
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I knew before entering this book that it would have some religious themes. However, I didn’t think it would’ve been the center of the book. Although she was in the same position, she has a condescending tone when talking about the other girls in her position. Most of her sermon (I mean story...) has extreme racist, homophobic, and sexist undertones which made it a very uncomfortable read.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    This lady is slow. I have a hard time believing her story. I was abused as a child and was NEVER this naive. Trafficked multiple times by different people? Ok
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    When I think of sex trafficking, it appears to me to be a remote problem, removed from my every day life. I'm sure many of us think the same way. We think it can't possibly happen in our small town or neighborhood; it must be a problem in larger cities or across the border. We feel that the young ones at risk can't possibly be ones that we know--nieces, nephews, young cousins, friends' children, our children, kids in our neighborhoods or from our churches. But after reading this book, I've discovered just how wrong I am. Exploitation can happen anywhere, with anyone at any time...even under our noses. Wake up, readers! Read this book.From the back cover: "Katariina Rosenblatt was a lonely and abused young girl, yearning to be loved, wanting attention. That made her the perfect target. On an ordinary day, she met a confident young woman--someone Kat wished she could be like--who pretended to be a friend while slowly luring her into a child trafficking ring. A cycle of false friendships, threats, drugs, and violence kept her trapped. As Kat shares her harrowing experiences, her ultimate escapes, and her passionate efforts to now free other victims, you'll see that not only is sex trafficking happening frightening close to home--it's also something that can be stopped. Stolen is a warning, a celebration of survival, and a beacon of hope that will inspire you."There are three distinct sections in this book. The first is Katariina Rosenblatt's personal story--her abuse, how her loneliness attracted a recruiter right there in the hotel she lived in, how she was led, groomed, step-by-step into slavery by traffickers, her escape and recapture numerous times. In the second part, Katariina had left the lies and deceptions behind, but she still carried the scars and signs of abuse so that she didn't recognize the patterns within the context of marriage. While she was gaining confidence and recognition for her educational acumen, finding her footing as an advocate for girls and women coming out of sex slavery, she was still in denial of a private hell at home with her husband. It took her over twenty years to realize she was an abused wife, then she suffered through two years of a messy divorce before she gained her freedom and independence with her daughter. The third part of the book deals with how Ms. Rosenblatt got involved in inter-agency interventions, saving girls and even boys from traffickers. She helped create several intervention organizations, spearheaded law reforms that sought to label trafficked children and teens as victims rather than arrested as criminals, and helped create links with faith-based services to provide aid and mentorship to the abused young people, including counseling to help them learn to live a normal life outside of the only world most of the children have ever known. Her actions and ministry were sometimes likened to the Underground Railroad, because she would lead children from stations to station, trying to keep the abused safe from vengeful pimps and traffickers who would rather see their victims dead than escape alive.Stolen was a good hard slap to the face; certainly it was an eye opener for me. In the first two parts of the book, the story is told in simple terms. The author is careful to outline the psychological techniques the recruiters used, why she fell for them, what was on her mind when she complied with the demands of her new "family." As the story continued, I felt astonished how often she escaped the abuse, then was lured back into the life. It all seemed to revolve around the lack of self-worth. Her abusers knew exactly what these children needed to hear. Even when she escaped the final time, she wasn't truly free until her heart was transformed. But that took many years into adulthood.I view this book as an amazing tool for the Gospel of Christ. First, it should stir up slumbering Christians who are so self-absorbed that they are missing an opportunity to serve hurting children right under their noses. Second, this book could serve as a way to reach teenagers at risk, because this is a story of someone who has been in the trenches and survived. Third, it can be useful for alerting parents of the potential dangers their children may face. It is a how-not-to manual, teaching parents how to avoid putting their children at risk. Fourth, the final section should encourage our local churches to partner with organizations whose goal is to mentor young victims of trafficking how to live a normal life, especially one where they find their hope and fulfillment in Christ. I would love to see every church have several copies of this book in circulation or to give away as a ministry. The book is amazing, and could touch many hearts.Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from Revell's reader's club blog review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”