American Girls: One Woman's Journey into the Islamic State and Her Sister's Fight to Bring Her Home

Written by Jessica Roy

Narrated by Cassandra Campbell

A brilliant, deeply reported narrative about religious extremism, radicalization, and the bonds of family: the story of an American woman who traveled to ISIS-controlled Syria with her two children and extremist husband and the sister back home who worked tirelessly to help her escape.

Raised in a restrictive Jehovah’s Witness community in Arkansas, sisters Lori and Sam Sally spent their teens and twenties moving around the South and Midwest, working low-wage jobs and falling in and out of relationships. Caught in an eternal sibling rivalry—where younger, quieter Lori protected outgoing, reckless Sam—the two women eventually married a pair of brothers and settled down in Elkhart, Indiana, just around the corner from each other. And it was there that their lives totally diverged.

While Lori was ultimately able to leave her violent marriage, Sam was drawn deeper into hers—and deeper into the control of a husband who slowly radicalized, via the internet, into a jihadist. With their daughter and Sam’s child from a previous relationship, the couple moved to Raqqa, Syria, where Moussa fought for ISIS and Sam, who never even converted to Islam, attempted to survive and protect her children from airstrikes, extremist indoctrination, and the brutality of the ISIS system. In Raqqa, Sam’s oldest son appeared in several Islamic State propaganda videos, and she participated in ISIS’s practice of enslaving Yezidi women and children. Sam says her husband coerced her to move, but Lori—who quit her job and worked tirelessly to try get Sam out of Syria—isn’t so sure.

American Girls combines an in-depth examination of Sam and Lori's lives with on-the-ground reporting from Iraq, providing readers with a rare glimpse into the world of American women who join ISIS. Interweaving deeply reported narrative drama with expert analysis, the book explores how the subjugation and abuse experienced by women in the United States, women like Sam and Lori, are the same themes that enable the rise of patriarchal, extremist ideologies like the one espoused by ISIS.

Fascinating, resonant, and moving, American Girls is an unforgettable journey—from small-town Arkansas to Raqqa, from domestic abuse to a militant terrorist organization—all told through the extraordinary story of two close, complicated sisters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jan 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9781797164236

Jessica Roy

Jessica Roy is a journalist and editor who splits her time between Paris and the United States. Previously, she served as the Digital Director of Elle magazine, where she oversaw content and strategy for the website. Jessica has also worked as a writer and editor at The Cut, Time, and The New York Observer, and is an adjunct professor at New York University, where she teaches writing and editing for digital platforms.   

Reviews for American Girls

[Linda James · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

American girls depicted what it is like being born in as a girl child & raised within the culture of Jehovah's Witnesses very well. I know this because I was one and hated every minute of it. It is actually a sub-culture of individuals who gather off of Society at Large. They are taught to self isolate by the way of the leadership using the fear of displeasing Jehovah & therefore not making it through Armageddon as the fuel of fear that keeps their followers who are taught that everything outside of this sub-culture is under the influence of the devil. This keeps the followers loyal and obedient to this organization. Being faithful to this organization is thought of as being the same as being faithful to Jehovah himself. One's own individuality is squashed when wanting to pursue any self-interest, only to find that they are directed by parents, elders and the leadership of this ORG to "pursue Kingdom interests" instead of self-interest. One is only able to put on the "new [JW] personality," (not their own) in order for Jehovah to be pleased with them. So there is no, "come as you are" statements within the Jehovah's Witness culture. One is made very aware that they have the responsibility of cleaning themselves up if they are going to be followers of Jehovah, (aka JW ORG) so potential followers are taught that their actions either please Jehovah or displease Jehovah. So the followers are then informed that within having to clean themselves up, they also get to carry the unfair burden that JW ORG teaches them. That is to be responsible for Jehovah's well being by making sure he is always pleased. It's a totalitarian regime, so it doesn't surprise me that they were caught up with ISIS without even realizing it. It is so similar to the culture of JW's that one might feel that they are right at home within the culture of ISIS if one was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. Oh and the snitching runs deep within the JW CULTure, so it didn't surprise me when Lori spoke of her sister Samantha as she had.