From the author of Held Hostage, NINE DAYS: Living with My Soul Wide Open after Violent Trauma is a memoir by Michelle Renee, and chronicles a single mother's 4,200-mile solo road trip up the coast of California and into the rugged terrain of the Alaskan wilderness. Surviving on little money or food, Michelle braves the elements and confronts her turbulent past on her way to return to her daughter and prepare to come face to face with one of their kidnappers… again. NINE DAYS is a story of guts, grit, and a mother’s determination that depicts the torment and triumph of forging ahead against all odds on the road that terrifies, challenges, and ultimately sets her free. How long does it take for trauma to heal? Decades after the harrowing events recounted in her 2016 true crime Held Hostage , Renee dives into the aftermath of the 2000 kidnapping that upended her life. Time after that wrenching experience and its aftershocks felt, Renee writes, like living in "invisible chains that took years, and miles, to unlock." Nine Days explores the process of unlocking, as Renee details both her journey toward healing, over years, but also a more literal journey, "the road trip of a lifetime" in the months before the kidnappers stood trial, her drive of some 4,000 miles, from San Diego to Eagle River, Alaska, with her pit bull Haley as her only company, save for the souls she encounters along the way. Renee had left her "crime scene" home to fly to Alaska with her daughter, Breea, finding safe haven at her mother-in-law's house. But Renee soon had to return to San Diego to salvage or give away what was left of her life there. That handled, she answered the calling of her soul, relishing the nine day drive while rushing to make Eagle River for Breea's eighth birthday. Without money for motels, Renee sleeps in her car or camps with pepper spray in hand. As she endures flashbacks and moments of terror, like leaving her keys and Haley locked in her car, Renee finds herself learning again to ask for help and trust others. Moments of road-trip splendor also help: "I hadn't felt so purely, deeply in the moment, and connected, ever in my life," Renee writes of driving through the Canadian Rockies. Trauma grows after the trial, as the verdicts don't slam the case shut, and Renee faces lies and innuendos as she seeks justice. Renee brings healing full circle as, years later, she moves toward active, radical forgiveness in a face-to-face encounter with the past. The result is complex and heartening, a feat of empathy. Takeaway: Healing, forgiveness, and a marvelous road trip power this touching memoir. Comparable Titles: Lysa Terkeurst's Forgiving What You Can't Forget , and Stephanie Foo's What My Bones Know . -BookLife Editorial Review "Nine Days is a journey of healing, rebuilding trust, and forgiveness after a traumatic event. A Mother's love guiding the way in that journey. Michelle Renee's memoir is both heartbreaking and inspiring, with moments where we are tempted to lose faith in humanity, only to have it strengthened by the love between a Mother and her Daughter in their quest to live." - don Miguel Ruiz Jr, Spiritual Teacher, and Global Best-Selling Author, Mastery of Self and The 5 Levels of Atttachment "Michelle's courage to share her story and 'go on' in hopes of inspiring others to live beyond their trauma is something for each and every one of us to take inspiration from. Read Nine Days and let her grit, deep love for her daughter and commitment to healing her life help you create the path forward." Dr. Ken Druck, author, How We Go On: Self-Compassion, Courage and Gratitude on The Path Forward. "Equally exhilarating, tragic, and transformative. NINE DAYS is raw and beautifully written." - Greg Reid, Global Best-Selling Author, Three Feet From Gold To write this book I sat for countless hours in my chaise lounge chair next to the window overlooking San Diego, classical piano and guitar softly playing in the background, typing on my laptop. When I wasn't there, I was at my small glass dining room table scouring through all of the video footage I had taken on the nine-day solo quest to Eagle River, Alaska to get back to my daughter. I watched each moment of the tapes I had recorded on the road, from picnic benches to inside my tent. On the edge of the bed in a dingy motel room, and inside my car as I drove. I looked back on journal entries, and court transcripts, studied photos, and took some of what had been written previously in my first book, Held Hostage. NINE DAYS is the telling of my story, our story, up to an incredible moment in April 2022 that truly brought healing full circle. This work is focused on what has always been most important to me: healing, relationships, and learning to live freely without the chains of trauma. Not "true crime". This is about so much more than the crime itself. This is about the resilience of the human spirit, a mother's love, transformation, redem