CPA Assist, in collaboration with Alberta Lawyers’ Assistance Society, is proud to host a three-part speaker series in 2016. These informative sessions on mental health and wellness will feature engaging speakers and address topics that impact professionals in Alberta. This presentation is the second of the series:
A Story of Resilience by Amanda Lindhout
In this engaging presentation, Amanda Lindhout, a Canadian journalist who was held hostage for 460 days in southern Somalia, will share her experience on how she found freedom in forgiveness.
As a child, Amanda escaped a violent household by paging through issues of National Geographic and imagining herself in its exotic locales. At the age of nineteen, she began to travel the globe. Aspiring to understand the world and live a significant life, she backpacked through Latin America, Laos, in war-ridden Afghanistan, and Iraq, where she carved out a fledgling career as a television reporter. And then, in August 2008, she travelled to Somalia—“the most dangerous place on earth.” On her fourth day, she was abducted by a group of masked men along a dusty road. Held hostage for 460 days, Amanda converts to Islam as a survival tactic, receives “wife lessons” from one of her captors, and risks a daring escape. Moved between a series of abandoned houses in the desert, she survives on memory—every lush detail of the world she experienced in her life before captivity—and on strategy, fortitude, and hope. When she is most desperate, she visits a house in the sky, high above the woman kept in chains, in the dark, being tortured.
Amanda’s book A House in the Sky was on The Globe & Mail “Top Ten” list for over two years and has been optioned by Hollywood production company Annapurna Pictures (Zero Dark Thirty, Her, American Hustle). Development has started with Oscar-nominated actress Rooney Mara set to play the role of Amanda.
A captivating, unforgettable speaker, Amanda focuses on the positive and will leave attendees with a fuller understanding of the freedom that can be experienced when compassion is embraced. What emerges is a celebration of resilience — a powerful portrait of the strength of the human spirit.
An internationally renowned public speaker, Amanda’s notable clients include Google, Bill Clinton and Richard Branson. Amanda will be speaking at Elevate 2016: Celebrating Progress and Achievement in Calgary on May 30 and in Edmonton on June 1.
Register in Calgary | Monday, May 30 | Telus Convention Centre
Register in Edmonton | Wednesday, June 1 | Westin Hotel
