In a story of deceit, betrayal, and injustice, two parents are tried as terrorists for attempting to rescue their son from a Syrian war zone.
On September 2, 2014, Jack Letts, an idealistic eighteen-year-old British Canadian, phoned his mother saying, "Mum, I'm in Syria." Those chilling words from a raging war zone set in train his family's eight-year-long battle to rescue Jack from his disastrous mistake.
When an unscrupulous journalist invented the term "Jihadi Jack," a false image of Jack spread throughout the world. Sally and John, Jack's parents, faced the mammoth task of persuading a hostile public that their son was the victim of a smear campaign. He should, they argued, at least be allowed home to face a fair trial to address the claims against him.
But the Canadian and British governments had other plans. Jack is currently detained in a Kurdish prison, while the Canadian government claims it doesn't know if he is alive or dead. This is his parents' story of their painful struggle to persuade the world to save the son they love.
Industry Reviews
Reasonable Cause to Suspect takes you on a gut-wrenching journey through the eyes of a devoted mother, Sally Lane. As she weaves her way through the legal and political systems and the unimaginable atrocities in Syria, Sally is determined to hold her son, Jack, in her arms again.
At every turn, you need to remind yourself this story has not been dreamt up as fiction but rather is a real-life nightmare where despair and hope clash.
You will never forget Jack's story and his mother's unwavering love and fierce commitment. * Sam Laprade, host of The Sam Laprade Show and CityNews Ottawa 101.1 FM *
This is an extraordinary tale...a testament to an ordinary parent's unconditional love for a child told with candour and courage. A gripping read. * Adrian Harewood, Canadian journalist and professor *
This book details deep loss in a Kafkaesque political landscape with surprising clarity, ironic humour and sobriety. Sally Lane lost her son to a war zone, and then to religious fervour, and now governmental inaction leaves him in an unending prison sentence - showing our democratic government's totalitarian stance on those it accuses as terror suspects, who once labelled, suffer an ongoing suspension of due process and are forever seen as guilty without trial. Who among us would not try to bring a family member home? The family has not given up. * David Gow, Canadian playwright, Relative Good *
I have been witnessing the pain and courage of the Letts for many years. Sally, Jack's mother is a mother everyone should have. This book is another step in that fight for justice for Jack and others. Western citizens, so long consumed by a narrative of Muslim terrorism, have allowed the powerful to take liberties with our liberties. More of us need to stand with the parents and young people who were or are caught between Islamicists and state agents. * Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, journalist and author *
This book is a courageous refusal to submit to the violence of cold, indifferent bureaucracy. For this simple drive to hold onto that which is so dear to her, Sally and her family have been effectively unpeopled by the well-oiled stigmatising mechanisms within this society. She lays out in detail the sophisticated system of manipulation that rendered her family rightless. Bring Jack home. Enough is enough. * Lowkey, rapper and activist *
