In this new memoir, James Loney, a Toronto-based peace activist and writer, recounts the circumstances of his widely publicized 2005 kidnapping in Iraq. A member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, Loney was snatched along with three fellow members and spent 118 days as a hostage  before being rescued by a multinational taskforce. Loney displays a rich understanding of the cultural, political, and religious underpinnings in Iraq, and he situates his story amid the chaos the country was navigating in the years following the 2003 invasion.

The story takes some time to get going, but finds its rhythm in daily accounts of the activists’ captivity: excruciating boredom punctuated by fear of imminent death, and mingled with the hope of escape. (Indeed, one of the captives, the American Tom Fox, lost his life to the kidnappers.) The experience of being held hostage was a constant test of each man’s faith; in describing this existential crisis, Loney’s book becomes more than a collection of disjointed thoughts.

Essentially, there are two stories here. The first is an eminently readable account of how ordinary people can overcome extraordinary circumstances, told in such detail that at times it becomes almost unbearable. The other is a foray into the musings, teachings, and varied life experiences that make up Loney’s worldview. These passages are overly didactic and at times distracting.

Loney is grateful for having been rescued by a “soldier who took a bolt cutter in his hands and cut the chain that held [him] captive for four months,” yet he remains a staunch pacifist. Embracing the paradox surrounding his existence today – his pacifism being allowed to flourish thanks to the actions of a group of soldiers – provides a window into Loney’s character, and helps alleviate those moments when his account veers toward preachy sentimentality.

If you can overlook these cloying digressions, however, Loney provides an honest appraisal of his time in hell, and a heartfelt tribute to his fellow captives.