What do you think?
Rate this book
Breaking Free: The True Story of a Survivor
Born into a wealthy family in Bangladesh, at the age of 19 Saira Bronson hit hard times. She was married off in Britain where her husband made her life a living hell, and she suffered terrible physical and sexual abuse. Alone in a foreign land and unable to speak English, Saira had to fight for her survival. For the sake of her child, she decided she had to make her escape and do what she had never been able to do before—take control of her life so that she could bring up her daughter free from fear and danger. At the time of this writing, she had married Charlie Bronson, Britain's most notorious convict, and she tells how she has found peace through her love for him.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 14, 2010
I felt a lot of sympathy for Saira in the first part of the book with being forced to marry a man she didn't like and live with him in a strange country. I had sympathy for her in the way she was treated until her divorce and how she felt like an outsider in a community that treated her badly. However it must be noted that her violent husband suffered seriously from manic depression and was in and out of mental hospitals. I don't condone violence but this man was mentally ill and perhaps didn't receive the medical care he needed to help them both.
Then came the second half of the book. I had no issue with her marrying a prisoner, even if he was the most dangerous inmate in Britain. That was her choice and her life and hey, I don't know much about Charles Bronson except what I read in the papers so who am I to judge his character now? It was the attitude of Saira in the second half of this book that really pissed me off. She wouldn't have married Charles if he'd been a murderer, rapist or child abuser, she says. He was only an armed robber and the only people he assaulted, injured and held hostage were the prison guards who deserved it she says. Oh Saira, did it occur to you that prison officers are not all evil brutes who deserve to be assaulted and terrorized by inmates? She complains about all the bad treatment she and her daughter had and the fear they suffer yet has no thought for the families of these prison officers who were attacked! How do you think those kids feel seeing Daddy beaten up when he goes to work in a dangerous place to put a roof over their head? For someone who suffered domestic violence, she seems pretty uncaring about the violence her husband dishes out, whether it was justified or not! She seems to despise her mentally ill husband for his violence yet her new husband's violence was always justified because it was only against prison staff.
Then she attacks her friends and workmates for not standing by her when she was seeing Bronson. OK I get that she was upset that her friends didn't understand her new love but did she not understand that they were just worried about Saira and her daughter? She slags off her employer for them asking her to leave when the relationship goes public and blasts their 'pathetic excuses'. Saira doesn't seem to think that the people who run a refuge and help centre for Asian women who are victims of forced marriages and abuse have the right to be concerned that one of their staff entrusted to help these women is dating the most notoriously alleged violent criminal in the UK! Not to mention that TV cameras are at this workplace pestering staff and scaring away vulnerable women who are trying to hide their identity from those they run away from! Saira get your head out of your arse and look at things from their point of view!!!
When she started moaning on that everyone was out to get her and she had to struggle without help on her own all those years, she conveniently forgets all the kind neighbours she had who gave her food and clothing for her baby, the hospital staff who let her stay extra days in hospital because she had nowhere to go, social services who arranged her divorce/college education/English lessons, the benefits agency who gave her the financial support she was entitled to and the employers who took her on and trained her. Saira was a bit ungrateful and amnesiac by the end of the book. The whining tone, preaching and judgemental attitude that came into this book spoiled an interesting story and I was so tired of her by the end that I was glad to dump the book in a charity shop bag.
Then came the second half of the book. I had no issue with her marrying a prisoner, even if he was the most dangerous inmate in Britain. That was her choice and her life and hey, I don't know much about Charles Bronson except what I read in the papers so who am I to judge his character now? It was the attitude of Saira in the second half of this book that really pissed me off. She wouldn't have married Charles if he'd been a murderer, rapist or child abuser, she says. He was only an armed robber and the only people he assaulted, injured and held hostage were the prison guards who deserved it she says. Oh Saira, did it occur to you that prison officers are not all evil brutes who deserve to be assaulted and terrorized by inmates? She complains about all the bad treatment she and her daughter had and the fear they suffer yet has no thought for the families of these prison officers who were attacked! How do you think those kids feel seeing Daddy beaten up when he goes to work in a dangerous place to put a roof over their head? For someone who suffered domestic violence, she seems pretty uncaring about the violence her husband dishes out, whether it was justified or not! She seems to despise her mentally ill husband for his violence yet her new husband's violence was always justified because it was only against prison staff.
Then she attacks her friends and workmates for not standing by her when she was seeing Bronson. OK I get that she was upset that her friends didn't understand her new love but did she not understand that they were just worried about Saira and her daughter? She slags off her employer for them asking her to leave when the relationship goes public and blasts their 'pathetic excuses'. Saira doesn't seem to think that the people who run a refuge and help centre for Asian women who are victims of forced marriages and abuse have the right to be concerned that one of their staff entrusted to help these women is dating the most notoriously alleged violent criminal in the UK! Not to mention that TV cameras are at this workplace pestering staff and scaring away vulnerable women who are trying to hide their identity from those they run away from! Saira get your head out of your arse and look at things from their point of view!!!
When she started moaning on that everyone was out to get her and she had to struggle without help on her own all those years, she conveniently forgets all the kind neighbours she had who gave her food and clothing for her baby, the hospital staff who let her stay extra days in hospital because she had nowhere to go, social services who arranged her divorce/college education/English lessons, the benefits agency who gave her the financial support she was entitled to and the employers who took her on and trained her. Saira was a bit ungrateful and amnesiac by the end of the book. The whining tone, preaching and judgemental attitude that came into this book spoiled an interesting story and I was so tired of her by the end that I was glad to dump the book in a charity shop bag.
July 27, 2009
Saira was forced into an arranged marriage when she was a teenager, which is a common practice in most muslim families in Bangladesh. Her father wanted her to be happy so he thought an English/Bangladeshi husband would be a great match for his daughter. Saira resisted the idea of marriage for as long as she could but finally relented when she saw this as an opportunity to help her family financialy.
On her wedding night she saw the true side of her husband, and wanted out of the marriage but was unable to do so without bringing shame to her whole family. Her husbands abuse grew even worse when they were finally living in Britain, and she found out his whole family had lied to her family in order to have her as the bride.
Once Saira was finally free of that marriage you would have thought she might pull herself together and finally find some happiness. In my opinion she was damaged very deeply on an emotional level and that is what led her to believe she was in love with Charles Bronson Britains most notorious violent criminal.
From there you can tell that she has sortive lost it. She doesn't admit this and would probably be angry at me for suggesting it if she were to ever read this review. She even allows her daughter to believe that Charles will be a father figure to her, which is just ludicrous.
Saira and her daughter were still living in the Asian community and very much unaccpted, even enduring abuse from most of the Asian population there. Saira is comletely alone and I feel that she clings to any idea of love and acceptance. I really do hope that one day she will find the love she is looking for, but I think she should seek some spiritual, and emotional healing before she looks for love again.
On her wedding night she saw the true side of her husband, and wanted out of the marriage but was unable to do so without bringing shame to her whole family. Her husbands abuse grew even worse when they were finally living in Britain, and she found out his whole family had lied to her family in order to have her as the bride.
Once Saira was finally free of that marriage you would have thought she might pull herself together and finally find some happiness. In my opinion she was damaged very deeply on an emotional level and that is what led her to believe she was in love with Charles Bronson Britains most notorious violent criminal.
From there you can tell that she has sortive lost it. She doesn't admit this and would probably be angry at me for suggesting it if she were to ever read this review. She even allows her daughter to believe that Charles will be a father figure to her, which is just ludicrous.
Saira and her daughter were still living in the Asian community and very much unaccpted, even enduring abuse from most of the Asian population there. Saira is comletely alone and I feel that she clings to any idea of love and acceptance. I really do hope that one day she will find the love she is looking for, but I think she should seek some spiritual, and emotional healing before she looks for love again.
October 31, 2014
I agree so much with the previous review..i felt that this woman should have been more thankful for all the help she had received yet claiming that she did everything alone!I don´t really see the message of empowerment here at all.It seems as if something was wrong with her. Additionally her writing is just so childish (but that could be just the translation), makes an interesting story so boring and inconsistent. I would just say, if you are looking for an inspiring story maybe try something else. But that´s just my humble opinion.
January 7, 2019
The previous readers have left remarkably strange reviews. I wonder if they have read the same book as myself?
I clearly remember reading Saira's early struggle of her forced marriage, and suddenly becoming a single mother in a strange and foreign country. Saira thanked her social services team, and local friends who were supportive at the time. My cousin remembers Saira as they often met at the same social club.
I strongly advise the previous readers assess their own bitter views toward women in general and understand that this is very poor judgement on your behalf. As women yourself, you cannot have hateful and such judgemental views against other women. It says more about you than it does Saira.
As for the language of the book being childish - there is no room for that here when we realise English is Saira's third language. For all my efforts, I am still unable to write my own book. So I commend Saira upon writing one!
As for Mr. Bronson's violence - it is clear we all disagree with that. Including Saira. There is no room for violence that he carried out, nor the violence that was carried out against him.
I was inspired by her journey. I believe we could all learn a thing or two from her experience.
I am struggling to understand what the previous readers gain from leaving pathetic comments like this online.
Perhaps that's what a "troll" is afterall!
Dr. E. H-J.
I clearly remember reading Saira's early struggle of her forced marriage, and suddenly becoming a single mother in a strange and foreign country. Saira thanked her social services team, and local friends who were supportive at the time. My cousin remembers Saira as they often met at the same social club.
I strongly advise the previous readers assess their own bitter views toward women in general and understand that this is very poor judgement on your behalf. As women yourself, you cannot have hateful and such judgemental views against other women. It says more about you than it does Saira.
As for the language of the book being childish - there is no room for that here when we realise English is Saira's third language. For all my efforts, I am still unable to write my own book. So I commend Saira upon writing one!
As for Mr. Bronson's violence - it is clear we all disagree with that. Including Saira. There is no room for violence that he carried out, nor the violence that was carried out against him.
I was inspired by her journey. I believe we could all learn a thing or two from her experience.
I am struggling to understand what the previous readers gain from leaving pathetic comments like this online.
Perhaps that's what a "troll" is afterall!
Dr. E. H-J.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews