In this book the Syrian journalist and writer, Samar Yezbek – an Alawite by birth – documents the period from March until July of 2011, covering the first five months of the Syrian revolution.

Her first-hand account is testimony to the integrity of author who, though she belongs in the same sect as the Assads, has unequivocally sided with freedom.

Rights to the book, owned by the Raya Agency, have so far been sold in Arabic, German, English and French, with the first physical copy coming out in German under the title Cry Freedom with an introduction by Rafik Schami.

According to the Raya website, Yezbek started her book with the statement, “I will only believe what I see with my own eyes,” going on to describe what started the journey for her, including every recollection and story she lived through.

Being among the few Damascus-based writers to have spoken out against the regime, Yezbek was incarcerated by the secret police before she fled the country with her daughter to Paris, recording and publishing this heart-breaking account of one of the bloodiest oppressive regimes known on earth today.

Yezbek was born in Syria in 1970. She has written novels, short stories, television dramas and documentary film scripts.