How Somali pirate kidnappings actually work, according to a former hostage

Jessica Buchanan is an author, humanitarian aid worker, and kidnapping survivor who spent 93 days held hostage by Somali pirates.

Originally a schoolteacher from the United States, she relocated to Africa to work as an education advisor for a nongovernmental organization. While finishing a routine field mission on October 25, 2011, she was abducted at gunpoint and held for ransom. Forced to live outdoors in brutal conditions, Buchanan’s health deteriorated until she was rescued in a highly classified raid by SEAL Team Six, authorized by President Barack Obama.

Buchanan speaks with Business Insider about her abduction and the mental fortitude she needed to develop to stay alive. She also details the high-stakes rescue by SEAL Team Six and the realities of what she terms “surviving survival” — navigating the complexity of PTSD and challenges of reacclimating to normal life after intense trauma.

In 2013, Buchanan coauthored “Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six.” She is also the author of 2025’s “How to Survive Survival.”

For more from Jessica Buchanan:

https://www.jessbuchanan.com/

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