What do you think?
Rate this book
Triumph: An American Girl's Journey Out of Saudi Arabia
Elise Evans, an American citizen, was raised from the age of three by her American mother and Saudi stepfather as a Saudi girl in Saudi Arabia. Her upbringing in Saudi culture is a terrifying tale of systemic oppression and a young girl's yearning for freedom against all odds.
In Triumph, Elise delivers a raw, gripping, and dark account of life inside a closed system designed to deprive women of their basic human rights. Packed with vivid, often surprising insights into Saudi society and laced with heartbreaking moments of survival, her memoir takes readers on a journey of loss, endurance, resistance, and liberation. Learn the secrets of khitbah that led to Elise's betrothal in marriage at age six and the Male Guardianship Law, which rendered her a permanent minor without basic rights. Elise suffered years of confinement, sexual abuse, physical and mental trauma, and the constant suppression of her basic rights. Her pilgrimages to Mecca, constantly hiding from the police, and her story of buying a Barbie on the "black market" are well documented. Elise lived a secret life, hidden from the Western world by an oppressive regime hell-bent on keeping millions of women trapped in a real-life Handmaid's Tale.
Today Elise, often referred to as the Katniss Everdeen of Saudi Arabia, is known internationally as a fierce advocate for women's rights. She speaks out against honor killings, torture, victim shaming, and systemic repression. Her three younger Saudi sisters and many dear friends are still caught in the system she finally escaped at age thirty. This book is her testimony and the capstone of her continued activism to see all women of Saudi Arabia set free.
In Triumph, Elise delivers a raw, gripping, and dark account of life inside a closed system designed to deprive women of their basic human rights. Packed with vivid, often surprising insights into Saudi society and laced with heartbreaking moments of survival, her memoir takes readers on a journey of loss, endurance, resistance, and liberation. Learn the secrets of khitbah that led to Elise's betrothal in marriage at age six and the Male Guardianship Law, which rendered her a permanent minor without basic rights. Elise suffered years of confinement, sexual abuse, physical and mental trauma, and the constant suppression of her basic rights. Her pilgrimages to Mecca, constantly hiding from the police, and her story of buying a Barbie on the "black market" are well documented. Elise lived a secret life, hidden from the Western world by an oppressive regime hell-bent on keeping millions of women trapped in a real-life Handmaid's Tale.
Today Elise, often referred to as the Katniss Everdeen of Saudi Arabia, is known internationally as a fierce advocate for women's rights. She speaks out against honor killings, torture, victim shaming, and systemic repression. Her three younger Saudi sisters and many dear friends are still caught in the system she finally escaped at age thirty. This book is her testimony and the capstone of her continued activism to see all women of Saudi Arabia set free.
740 pages, Hardcover
Published November 25, 2025
3 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 16, 2025
Reading Triumph, a memoir about an American woman's experience in Saudi Arabian is quite an enlightening experience. As an American, her recounting of Sharia Law in a Muslim country like Saudi Arabian reminds how much freedom we as American enjoy, especially with our ability to be vocal about religious customs in our country.
I would not consider myself religious, but if we are going by definitions, the closest I would say I align with being labeled is Islamic, in that I follow God only. But to say I am a follower of the Qur'an and/or Sharia Law would be like saying I follow Catholic dogma as a Catholic. I find many faults in organized religion and can feel for author Elise Martin's plight as she fought for autonomy of her own behavior.
Without a memoir like Triumph, many outsiders like myself would not be able to really know what goes on in a country like Saudi Arabia. The closest recounting of a religious country I have read is Persepolis, which similarly describes a young woman's experience in Iran as their own country became radicalized.
Of course, we have to take an author like Martin at her word, but such is the trust that is required to understand another person's testimony. We believe because we are told, and there is quite a story being told in this memoir. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get a glimpse into a religious country to understand just how burdensome that a country can get without the freedoms provided by a Constitution.
Reading of how Saudi Arabia has a religious police who enforce Sharia Law reminds me of the Gestapo in Nazi controlled countries during World War 2. It may not seem as severe, but the threat of arrest for failing to pray is indeed a terrifying one. I can only ask what purpose God has in allowing such practices to occur, and pray that these countries enjoy the same freedoms that we hold dear here in the United States of America.
🙏
I would not consider myself religious, but if we are going by definitions, the closest I would say I align with being labeled is Islamic, in that I follow God only. But to say I am a follower of the Qur'an and/or Sharia Law would be like saying I follow Catholic dogma as a Catholic. I find many faults in organized religion and can feel for author Elise Martin's plight as she fought for autonomy of her own behavior.
Without a memoir like Triumph, many outsiders like myself would not be able to really know what goes on in a country like Saudi Arabia. The closest recounting of a religious country I have read is Persepolis, which similarly describes a young woman's experience in Iran as their own country became radicalized.
Of course, we have to take an author like Martin at her word, but such is the trust that is required to understand another person's testimony. We believe because we are told, and there is quite a story being told in this memoir. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get a glimpse into a religious country to understand just how burdensome that a country can get without the freedoms provided by a Constitution.
Reading of how Saudi Arabia has a religious police who enforce Sharia Law reminds me of the Gestapo in Nazi controlled countries during World War 2. It may not seem as severe, but the threat of arrest for failing to pray is indeed a terrifying one. I can only ask what purpose God has in allowing such practices to occur, and pray that these countries enjoy the same freedoms that we hold dear here in the United States of America.
🙏
November 2, 2025
In Triumph, Elise Martin recounts her life history - from her childhood in Saudi Arabia, through her young adult years in the United Arab Emirates, to her slightly later adulthood in the United States. Along the way, Martin is raised as a young Saudi girl, despite her American citizenship, finds and loses close friends, earns her college degree, finds satisfaction in her work, and is married multiple times. Martin gives a peek behind the computer by sharing that she has planned to write her story since she was young and had been keeping journals and writing information down over the years. That really fleshes out her autobiography, giving it a great flow. As you move through the chapters, you feel like you are walking alongside Martin as she lives through each aspect. She is truly able to put herself, and thus the reader, back in the situations of her history. The result is a book that feels more like a journey than a retelling. Martin's attitude towards life and willingness to learn from her life experiences is inspirational. Despite living through many difficult situations and relationships, Martin is able to grow from each and find forgiveness for others, without excusing inexcusable behavior.
January 7, 2026
From Mormon to Muslim
I can't understand the going back as an adult back over and in over to the man that had an incest relationship with her.
Her mother served her in a platter her son and daughter to the Saudi stept father to be abused, I believe the boy was also sexually abused.
The author could not be without a man ,was groomed to serve.
Horrible family, her mom, grandparents, my thoughts are for the little boy now a man that tried as her brother to protect and was discarded.
One thing is being born a Muslim in Saudi Arabia, another choose to be a Muslim. Self flagellation.
I can't understand the going back as an adult back over and in over to the man that had an incest relationship with her.
Her mother served her in a platter her son and daughter to the Saudi stept father to be abused, I believe the boy was also sexually abused.
The author could not be without a man ,was groomed to serve.
Horrible family, her mom, grandparents, my thoughts are for the little boy now a man that tried as her brother to protect and was discarded.
One thing is being born a Muslim in Saudi Arabia, another choose to be a Muslim. Self flagellation.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews