20 Months in Hostage Hell

When Debbie Calitz and her partner Bruno Pelizzari set sail from Dar es Salaam in October 2010, they could never have guessed that they would be making a voyage into the depths of hell. Three days into their journey as crew on board the yacht Choizel, it was captured by Somali pirates who held Debbie and Bruno for ransom. For twenty months the pair was made to live in dark rooms while they were moved countless times between different locations and captors who subjected them—but especially Debbie—to untold horrors. Yet Debbie’s spiritual awareness, her sense of humanity, and ironically, her past history of being the victim of abuse, helped her to stay alive as she remained positive in the belief that she and Bruno would be rescued. In this compelling book right from the depths of depravity, Debbie Calitz reveals the details of their ordeal and their eventual rescue. It is a story of overwhelming courage from a woman who overcame all odds when freedom and dignity were a distant memory.