To Save Her Life: Disappearance, Deliverance, and the United States in Guatemala

by Dan Saxon

Part human rights drama, part political thriller, part love story, this riveting narrative chronicles the disappearance of one woman as it tells the larger story of the past fifty years of violence and struggle for social justice and democracy, and U.S. intervention in Guatemala. Maritza Urrutia was abducted from a middle-class neighborhood while taking her son to school in 1992. To Save Her Life tells the story of her ordeal which included being interrogated in secret by army intelligence officers about her activities as part of a political opposition group. Chained to a bed, blindfolded, and deprived of sleep, Maritza was ultimately spared because her family was able to contact influential intermediaries, including author Dan Saxon, who was in Guatemala working for the Catholic Church's Human Rights Office. Here Saxon brings to life the web of players who achieved her the Church, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Congress, numerous NGOs, guerrilla groups, politicians, students, and the media. Reaching back to 1954, when Maritza's grandparents were activists, the book is a study of the complex and often cruel politics of human rights, and its themes reverberate from Guatemala to Guantánamo to Iraq.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography

339 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. In 1992, after dropping her son off at school, Maritza Urrutia was abducted off the streets of Guatemala City by government agents concerned about her work with groups working to overthrow the Guatemalan government. Her particular case is used as a jumping off point to discuss the history of Guatemala in the latter half of the 20th century, the "disappearances" that happened regularly, and the role of the United States in Guatemala.

[Arlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tells story of a young mother kidnapped in Guatemala by her own government. Brings to light human rights violations by the government.