Sold: The Story of a Slave

As part of our preparation for this summer’s internship, we were asked to read a book by Patricia McCormick called Sold.  In between studying for finals and writing papers this past week, I set aside some time to read this book: the story of a Nepalese girl sold into sex slavery in India.  It certainly wasn’t easy to put down!  I read it in just a few sittings.

The story begins with a little girl like you or me living with her family on a farm in Nepal.  They are obviously struggling financially, but the most vivid thing that appeared to me was the love shared between mother and daughter.  This little girl loved her mother, and her mother loved her.  The only part of the equation that didn’t equal out was that of the step-father, who eventually sold his little girl to a woman from the city…supposedly to be a servant in a rich person’s house.

From that point, nothing is as it was for this girl.  I won’t repeat the vividness of the stories or the graphic details therein revealed (although I would recommend that you read the book yourself if you are interested in learning more).  Her story was not a fairytale; it was more like a never ending horror flick…the real kind, not the ones with bad effects and lame monsters.

My heart broke for this little girl and the others like her who have found themselves in these terrible positions.  The good news for the girl in this story is that she was eventually found and freed from her prison…but there are so many other that stayed trapped and locked away.  And even for this girl, freedom has not yet been won.  She will have a long, hard road ahead of her to overcome the trauma of what has occurred.  Her life has been marked forever…and she was only 13.