Overview

When Paula Lucas, a Catholic farm girl raised in the agricultural heartland of California met an internationally known foreign photographer in San Francisco shortly after college, her life transformed. She spent fourteen years living and traveling overseas in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. A dream comes true as an American expat, except she hid terrible secrets that almost cost the lives of her children and herself. The night before she fled Dubai in April 1999, she made a covenant with God that she would help other American women and children being terrorized in foreign countries if she successfully escaped the next day. She did. Seeking safety at her sister's home in Portland, Oregon, she thought her nightmare would end. It didn't. She was forced to flee once again. Homeless and on the run at forty years-old with three little boys, they lived like gypsies along the California and Oregon coast hiding from the man that threatened, ""I will hunt you down and slaughter you like animals no matter where you are in the world."" From victim to victor, Paula weaves you through her astonishing life journey for the first time since her escape seventeen years ago in this tell-all memoir.

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Reviews

Making the decision to get away from violence while physically trapped in a foreign country, Paula quickly learned her American freedoms had not traveled with her. These pages draw readers deep into her experience, and we witness her intuition carrying her through. Just when we think she is safe, the story turns, and she is on the run again with her three sons. It's an unforgettable memoir, and a teacher for us all. Gavin de Becker, Bestselling Author, The Gift of Fear Paula Lucas escaped with her sons from desperate circumstances and with incredible will and resourcefulness became an internationally respected leader in victim advocacy. Her work and the organization she founded is a lifeline for countless abused women and men around the world who find themselves alone or isolated in unfamiliar surroundings. In Harvesting Stones, this extraordinary woman shares her personal story. Much more than a cautionary tale, it's an inspiration and a model for anyone who seeks to transform their lives and help others in the process. Jackson Katz, Ph.D., Author, The Macho Paradox, creator of the award-winning documentary Tough Guise Harvesting Stones describes one woman's descent into an inferno of violence, with escape complicated by her living in a foreign country. Hats off to Paula Lucas, who then created AODVC, a ground-breaking US-based nonprofit association with a solid global safety net to help abused Americans abroad. Dorothy van Schnooneveld, Former Executive Director, American Citizens Abroad An amazing journey of strength and determination to survive against seemingly insurmountable odds. Dawn Schiller, Author, The Road Through Wonderland Terrifying, unimaginable, harrowing, chilling - thankfully this engrossing book ends triumphantly. Paula Lucas' cautionary story of survival is the stuff of news headlines, full of international intrigue, betrayal, domestic violence and virtual servitude in a foreign land. Barely escaping with her sons, she helps them heal while on the run from her abusive spouse, and despite poverty goes on to create the much-needed Americans Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Center to aid others in similar straits. Harvesting Stones is a testament to Lucas' strength, bravery, tenacity and will to thrive. Her tale is the very hallmark of resilience. Linda Janssen, Author, The Emotionally Resilient Expat: Engage, Adapt and Thrive Across Cultures. www.TheEmotionallyResilientExpat.com In the voice of a close friend, Paula Lucas shares her shocking, unimaginable personal story - of domestic abuse in an exotic foreign land, of a mother's strong will to survive for her children, and of a woman's determination to rise above her fate to help others. Paula Lucas' story highlights the special challenges faced by Americans living overseas who are victims of domestic violence. She founded the Americans Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Center to help others in the same situation. Hers is an enthralling story of courage and perseverance with a powerful and inspiring ending. My-Linh Kunst, President, Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas Paula Lucas takes us on a journey into an expat marriage with a shockingly abusive man, her plight compounded by the circumstances of her vulnerability. Scalps will tighten as she is terrorized along with her three boys and discovers they are unable to flee. This is not a book to put down and forget. Laura J Stephens, Author An Inconvenient Posting, an expat wife's memoir of lost identity, www.laurajstephens.com

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