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Only Cry For The Living
THE CHILLING, MUST-READ DEBUT BY AWARD-WINNING WAR CRIMES INVESTIGATOR HOLLIE S. MCKAY FROM JOCKO PUBLISHING AND DI ANGELO PUBLICATIONS!
Only once in a lifetime does a war so brutal erupt. A war that becomes an official genocide, causes millions to run from their homes, compels the slaughtering of thousands in the most horrific of ways, and inspires terrorist attacks to transpire across the world.
That is the chilling legacy of the ISIS onslaught, and Only Cry for the Living takes a profoundly personal, unprecedented dive into one of the most brutal terrorist organizations in the world.
Journalist Hollie S. McKay offers a raw, on-the-ground journey chronicling the rise of ISIS in Iraq exposing the group's vast impact and how and why it sought to wage terror on civilians in a desperate attempt to create an antiquated caliphate.
The book, constructed chronologically through memos, captures the historical impact of ISIS across Iraq and Syria, as seen through the eyes of sex slave survivors, internally displaced people, persecuted minorities, humanitarian workers, religious leaders, military commanders, and even the terrorists themselves.
It is not only a book that casts a haunting light on some of the darkest corners of the globe, but it is also a narrative brimming with silver-linings that illuminate the resiliency of the human spirit. It is a tragedy underscored by the heroic efforts of ordinary human beings to pick up the pieces, to fight back, and to believe that their voices matter.
To truly understand the nature of terrorism and extremism to stop another ISIS from spilling needless blood we must listen to the lessons of those who lived it, fought it, joined it and rejected it.
Only once in a lifetime does a war so brutal erupt. A war that becomes an official genocide, causes millions to run from their homes, compels the slaughtering of thousands in the most horrific of ways, and inspires terrorist attacks to transpire across the world.
That is the chilling legacy of the ISIS onslaught, and Only Cry for the Living takes a profoundly personal, unprecedented dive into one of the most brutal terrorist organizations in the world.
Journalist Hollie S. McKay offers a raw, on-the-ground journey chronicling the rise of ISIS in Iraq exposing the group's vast impact and how and why it sought to wage terror on civilians in a desperate attempt to create an antiquated caliphate.
The book, constructed chronologically through memos, captures the historical impact of ISIS across Iraq and Syria, as seen through the eyes of sex slave survivors, internally displaced people, persecuted minorities, humanitarian workers, religious leaders, military commanders, and even the terrorists themselves.
It is not only a book that casts a haunting light on some of the darkest corners of the globe, but it is also a narrative brimming with silver-linings that illuminate the resiliency of the human spirit. It is a tragedy underscored by the heroic efforts of ordinary human beings to pick up the pieces, to fight back, and to believe that their voices matter.
To truly understand the nature of terrorism and extremism to stop another ISIS from spilling needless blood we must listen to the lessons of those who lived it, fought it, joined it and rejected it.
440 pages, Hardcover
Published March 4, 2021
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667 people want to read
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January 22, 2023Hollie McKay proves herself to be one of the most prolific and foremost wartime journalists today with her extensive reporting on the ISIS war of the last decade. It takes a Howard Zinn-like approach for the most part, focusing on how war affects everyday people and families. It becomes understandably tragic and graphic as it describes in quite some detail the atrocities committed, but generally it doesn’t do so without a purpose. She uncovers the injustice and tragedy ISIS brought on the area, especially as it affected women, children, and non-combatants. Once in a while she takes a philosophical tone, stopping us to think about the meaning of the battles. “What is war?” she asks repeatedly, then provides a sentence or two that summarizes what’s happened and what it means. She doesn’t seem to take much of a political stance, doesn’t denigrate any particular US or UN policy, instead zeroing in on what’s happening on the ground. She sometimes shares her own feelings and fears: often, in the throes of war, she pines for her mother’s comfort. Thus, it’s an awfully human book.
That said, it suffers from many publishing and editing problems. For one thing, there are too many errors for a hardback: typos, misspelled words, typeset gaps, words that escaped spellcheck (“bedim” is used when “bedlam” was clearly intended), and even subject / verb agreement. For another, while I can appreciate the vast coverage of events, I felt there were just too many stories. I didn’t get to stay with any one story, one family, one event, for more than two pages before moving onto something else, although some stories seemed to dovetail on others. The timeline also seems to go all over, even though the notes are organized by a particular year in which she wrote them (2014-18).
I just wished it had a direction, or a narrative. There didn’t seem to be an “arc,” a chronology, or an opinion, that held it together. I suppose there’s truth in the title: it seemed to be simply McKay’s notebook transcribed into book form with very little editing whatsoever. For me, at least, that didn’t serve it well – I could have used a shorter report with either a clear timeline; shorter, focused chapters; or something of a personal reflection pervading it all. I thought at one point that these were all news stories that she never submitted: each “memo” seems to be about the length of a mid-sized newspaper article.
If you can read it slowly, or a little at a time, quite like a magazine, you’ll get some harrowing and tragic stories about one of the world’s most recent and brutal conflicts. Thanks to my pal Bryan Robinson for providing me a copy as a gift!
Trigger warning: war, sexual assault, extreme violence.
That said, it suffers from many publishing and editing problems. For one thing, there are too many errors for a hardback: typos, misspelled words, typeset gaps, words that escaped spellcheck (“bedim” is used when “bedlam” was clearly intended), and even subject / verb agreement. For another, while I can appreciate the vast coverage of events, I felt there were just too many stories. I didn’t get to stay with any one story, one family, one event, for more than two pages before moving onto something else, although some stories seemed to dovetail on others. The timeline also seems to go all over, even though the notes are organized by a particular year in which she wrote them (2014-18).
I just wished it had a direction, or a narrative. There didn’t seem to be an “arc,” a chronology, or an opinion, that held it together. I suppose there’s truth in the title: it seemed to be simply McKay’s notebook transcribed into book form with very little editing whatsoever. For me, at least, that didn’t serve it well – I could have used a shorter report with either a clear timeline; shorter, focused chapters; or something of a personal reflection pervading it all. I thought at one point that these were all news stories that she never submitted: each “memo” seems to be about the length of a mid-sized newspaper article.
If you can read it slowly, or a little at a time, quite like a magazine, you’ll get some harrowing and tragic stories about one of the world’s most recent and brutal conflicts. Thanks to my pal Bryan Robinson for providing me a copy as a gift!
Trigger warning: war, sexual assault, extreme violence.
February 19, 2022
Extremely humbling book and one that made me feel even more lucky about the life I was born with. Furthermore, I am a firm believer in learning history so as not to repeat it; this book is FULL of humanity’s darkest recent history and shares the worst of what our race has to offer. Thankfully, Holly did a great job of highlighting the stories of resilience, love, faith and perseverance of our brothers and sisters in the Middle East who are merely trying to make ends meet for their families. This book is heavy and not for the faint of heart, but I believe everyone should be exposed to this sort of real life that, thankfully, the vast majority of us will never be exposed to otherwise.
The only unfortunate part of this book was that there were a good number of editorial errors, which sadly took the immersion away for me. It left certain parts of the book feeling sloppy, which is a shame as it occasionally happened amidst some pretty heart wrenching parts.
The only unfortunate part of this book was that there were a good number of editorial errors, which sadly took the immersion away for me. It left certain parts of the book feeling sloppy, which is a shame as it occasionally happened amidst some pretty heart wrenching parts.
July 31, 2021
Everyone should read this book.
October 30, 2023
I first heard about this book via the Jocko Podcast. Coincidentally, I happened to pick it up about a week prior to the Hamas attack in Israel. At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to learn about the tragedy in Israel and hear a story about ISIS at the same time, but I felt it drawn to read it, and in doing so, I learned so much more than I expected.
Once I started getting into the book, I was actually blown away by how good it was, and even more impressed to see that it was written by a female journalist. No space was wasted in the telling of this story: you can essentially flip to any page and find value, unlike in most books. I took dozens of notes. Not only did the author go above and beyond to witness firsthand the tragedy of the region, but she captured its many important stories with precision and poignancy. The bravery required for her to travel through such war-torn countries and onto the front lines of war, especially as a woman in the Middle East, as well as her openness and willingness to experience the pain and tragedy of others in the telling of this story did not go unnoticed.
Books like this one should really be required reading in our schools. Hollie did an amazing job with covering this issue (“ISIS”) from a wide variety of angles. Her storytelling offered an excellent mix of first person experiences, historical reference, and individual stories. Her skill at balancing a difficult topic with beautifully-worded prose is unique. There were multiple places where I stopped to re-read a sentence or paragraph just because it was so heartfelt or profound.
I also really liked the repeating question she asked throughout the book of “what is war?” At first I thought asking this question multiple times would be overkill, but asking this question repeatedly actually had the effect of neatly tying together her own experiences and reflections along her journey with summarized and clarifying insights to help bring meaning and understanding. Examples:
-What is war? All the children look much younger than they were because they were so small – while at the same time, they seemed so old. Life experience has matured their facial expressions, and sometimes it was like staring into a pained adult soul. These children had already been burdened by so much. How would they ever heal?
-What was war? Answers without questions and questions without answers; confusion, chaos, and complexity.
-What is war? Everything you could imagine hell to be, only worse.
In short, I would highly recommend this book.
Once I started getting into the book, I was actually blown away by how good it was, and even more impressed to see that it was written by a female journalist. No space was wasted in the telling of this story: you can essentially flip to any page and find value, unlike in most books. I took dozens of notes. Not only did the author go above and beyond to witness firsthand the tragedy of the region, but she captured its many important stories with precision and poignancy. The bravery required for her to travel through such war-torn countries and onto the front lines of war, especially as a woman in the Middle East, as well as her openness and willingness to experience the pain and tragedy of others in the telling of this story did not go unnoticed.
Books like this one should really be required reading in our schools. Hollie did an amazing job with covering this issue (“ISIS”) from a wide variety of angles. Her storytelling offered an excellent mix of first person experiences, historical reference, and individual stories. Her skill at balancing a difficult topic with beautifully-worded prose is unique. There were multiple places where I stopped to re-read a sentence or paragraph just because it was so heartfelt or profound.
I also really liked the repeating question she asked throughout the book of “what is war?” At first I thought asking this question multiple times would be overkill, but asking this question repeatedly actually had the effect of neatly tying together her own experiences and reflections along her journey with summarized and clarifying insights to help bring meaning and understanding. Examples:
-What is war? All the children look much younger than they were because they were so small – while at the same time, they seemed so old. Life experience has matured their facial expressions, and sometimes it was like staring into a pained adult soul. These children had already been burdened by so much. How would they ever heal?
-What was war? Answers without questions and questions without answers; confusion, chaos, and complexity.
-What is war? Everything you could imagine hell to be, only worse.
In short, I would highly recommend this book.
September 23, 2021
Thank you for this one Hollie.
Thank you for giving a voice to those never heard. Thank you for risking your own life in order to shed a wider light upon the atrocities so many innocents in the war torn areas of the world have had to endure (namely, The Middle East in this context). Thank you for unearthing the oft missed human component to the staggering body counts listed instead by the news media. Thank you for trying to make sense of war by illuminating the struggle so many of us never see.
Only Cry For the Living is a harrowing read. It is often difficult, heart wrenching, horrifying, and downright shocking. To hear what many of these survivors have gone through truly shows the barbarity so many humans are capable of inflicting upon their own kind. But it would be much worse if these stories were left forgotten and untold.
And that is where the magic in this book is found. There is a deep sense of hope and purpose at the heart of this work and at the heart of everything Hollie is continuing to pursue. Despite the hopelessness and despair pervasive everywhere in her interviews there remains plenty to evidence that people want to do right by one another and want to live in peace.
I am so glad that Hollie is at the forefront of bringing this all to light.
While this is not a perfect book in my own estimation, it is well worth a read. I found a lot of her leaps in timelines to be confusing and probably would have enjoyed the subject matter more had I gone in with a deeper understanding of the region’s history, religions, cultures, and conflicts. But despite my own knowledge gaps and some minor issues with the material, this remains an excellent book worthy of reading and sharing.
I look forward to future releases by Ms McKay. Her work is important work indeed. Her heart permeates the pages.
Thank you for giving a voice to those never heard. Thank you for risking your own life in order to shed a wider light upon the atrocities so many innocents in the war torn areas of the world have had to endure (namely, The Middle East in this context). Thank you for unearthing the oft missed human component to the staggering body counts listed instead by the news media. Thank you for trying to make sense of war by illuminating the struggle so many of us never see.
Only Cry For the Living is a harrowing read. It is often difficult, heart wrenching, horrifying, and downright shocking. To hear what many of these survivors have gone through truly shows the barbarity so many humans are capable of inflicting upon their own kind. But it would be much worse if these stories were left forgotten and untold.
And that is where the magic in this book is found. There is a deep sense of hope and purpose at the heart of this work and at the heart of everything Hollie is continuing to pursue. Despite the hopelessness and despair pervasive everywhere in her interviews there remains plenty to evidence that people want to do right by one another and want to live in peace.
I am so glad that Hollie is at the forefront of bringing this all to light.
While this is not a perfect book in my own estimation, it is well worth a read. I found a lot of her leaps in timelines to be confusing and probably would have enjoyed the subject matter more had I gone in with a deeper understanding of the region’s history, religions, cultures, and conflicts. But despite my own knowledge gaps and some minor issues with the material, this remains an excellent book worthy of reading and sharing.
I look forward to future releases by Ms McKay. Her work is important work indeed. Her heart permeates the pages.
January 3, 2023
Haunting. Chilling. A first-hand glimpse at the toll of what war, failed war, extremism, broken up families, and death have on the human psyche.
McKay asks a question which persists as the main theme of the book: What is war? And she does not impose her own options or answers, rather she sits with those who are in war, impacted by war, and grieve the loss that war robs from them. On both sides…on all sides.
McKay gets dirty so we can sit safely in our homes and cafes and read about the prices paid by countless others. While on the other side of the world people just like us, who didn’t ask for war, fear their homes and cafes may end up in rubble; that they may become “aliens in their own land.” Must read.
McKay asks a question which persists as the main theme of the book: What is war? And she does not impose her own options or answers, rather she sits with those who are in war, impacted by war, and grieve the loss that war robs from them. On both sides…on all sides.
McKay gets dirty so we can sit safely in our homes and cafes and read about the prices paid by countless others. While on the other side of the world people just like us, who didn’t ask for war, fear their homes and cafes may end up in rubble; that they may become “aliens in their own land.” Must read.
July 22, 2022
A remarkable set of stories about those who were under the thumb of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. You will get to experience how the Yazidis suffered and still suffer as well as various other ethnic minorities such as Kurds and Iraqi Christians during one of the most recent full scale genocides in our time. The author is a journalist with an ethnic background from the region and she brilliantly and fairly describes this tragedy.
March 14, 2022
I listened to this book on Audible. The reader was very good. The book was very enlightening. As a peacekeeper by nature I could relate to the horrors of surviving war. Sometimes not getting through something horrific is a mercy. The stories are beautiful and terrible. The reasons for war often don’t matter to those most affected by it. It’s definitely worth reading and pondering.
February 16, 2023
Absolutely heart-wrenching narrative of the war ISIS raged on the people of Iraq and Syria - and their wars to go back home and to simply survive the physical, mental, and emotional scars left in the wake. The foreword by Jocko Willink provides an apt and foreboding summary: “This is not an easy read… This is an important read.”
March 22, 2023
A well written book that was so horrifying at times I had to put it down and decompress. I can not recommend it enough, especially to those of us who so easily forget the unspeakable horrors committed less than a decade ago. And to the Washington Post editor who published the headline , "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, austere religious scholar at helm of ISIS, dies at 48" I recommend this book especially.
August 30, 2021
This book gives a glimpse into what true despair and human suffer is. The author placed herself in a great deal of danger to gain access to these person. She even has a sit down with a member of ISIL. Well written and gives some perspective as to how great we have it here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2022
This book is tough to read. Not because of the way it’s written, it written in a great way, but because of the stories and horrific things that are described. This book is rough, but its message is important.
December 24, 2021
My podcast episode with the author: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WyXq...
February 11, 2022
Beautifully written
October 27, 2022
One of the books on suffering worth reading, I think. I love Hollie and particularly felt drawn into the passages where she exposes her heart to the reader.
December 16, 2022
A stark and revealing insight into a humanitarian dimension of terrorism, sprinkled with geopolitical insights.
June 9, 2024
Must read
September 15, 2023
Holly McKay is a brave soul with deep empathy and an ability to find a story. Her ability to tell the story of high level player and common man experiences is unparalleled.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews