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In this highly personal follow-up to Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali examines the high cost of freedom - estrangement from her family and country, the loud criticism of her by many Muslims (some of them women), the 24-hour security which came as a result of death threats, and her struggle to come to terms with an often lonely independence. She records the painful reconciliation with her beloved father, who had disowned her when she began criticising Islam, and the sorts of conflicts inherent in feeling torn between heart and mind. And as she delves into Islam's obsessions with virginity and the code of honour, she asks the question on everyone's mind: why do so many women embrace a religion which shuns them? Weaving together memoir and reportage, Ayaan confronts the complacency and ignorance that often colour intellectual debate on Islam. With disarming honesty, she shares her experiences, doubts and insights.