Manal al-Sharif grew up in Mecca, and through a combination of her family’s teachings and her time at school, spent most of her childhood and teen years as a religious fanatic. Then, in her 20s, she became a computer security engineer, working with a variety of people, and realized just how wrong the situation in her country really was. She began to rebel against the government by doing something that most of us bitch and moan about doing every day: daring to drive.
Manal tells her story here — her upbringing, her cruel marriage, how she and other women suffered under Islamic law, and how she dared to defy it all. This book made me angry and sad and proud. Manal comes off as fierce and intelligent, and her story simply amazed me.