Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial

I pre-ordered the book when it first popped up in 2015 and my copy has arrived, but I have in fact listened to the audiobook instead (due to time commitments) through Audible.I preface my review by saying I am unabashedly in the camp of Adnan and his supporters. I hope, however, I can provide a balanced review here.It should be noted from the outset that this book is not and was never meant to be an unbiased investigation into the case. The book is written firmly in the view of Adnan and Rabia. Notwithstanding that, I think the story is told as they know and understand it. No one - not a single person involved in this case - would be able to provide an unbiased account of what happened in 1999 and since. I didn't feel the book sugar coated Adnan's "weaknesses" as a human being or a Muslim (weakness being a perception here, rather than perhaps the reality).When I listened to Serial, I felt unconvinced either way of Adnan's guilt or innocence - exactly as Serial designed, I sat on the fence. I was unequivocal that a fair trial had not been afforded Adnan and that there was plenty of reasonable doubt.The Undisclosed podcast changed that, through careful legal analysis and investigation. I firmly believe now that Adnan Syed did not kill Hae Min Lee, although I am not as convinced as others about who the perpatrator might be. I have thoughts on possibilities but I don't think there is a case to be made, beyond reasonable doubt, against any suspects (based on what is in the public domain). I was concerned before listening that perhaps allegations would be made in this book, as have been made by others, but I was relieved to find that while other suspects are analysed (and ought to be so further), no such affirmations were made. I don't think it helps the case for having Adnan exonerated to be making assertions of guilt against others without bullet-proof evidence. That is no better than his own conviction.I found the book beautifully written - Rabia's speaking style is engrossing, and I think listening to it brings a dimension that cannot be found on the page. I enjoyed hearing Adnan's "voice" through the book, especially his letters to Sarah Koenig. I especially enjoyed the peripheral story of Rabia's life and how that interwove with her support of Adnan - it is worthy of a seperate book in itself. The evidence presented makes a coercive case - it is difficult to believe anyone could think, at best, his trial was fair. Rabia is unequivocal (and in my opinion correct) in her assessment of the justice system as being broken - a fact mirrored in most western justice systems, sadly. If I could be persuaded that all the law enforcement and prosecution lawyers had behaved legally and ethically, perhaps I could accept the verdict (whilst still believing in Adnan's innocence). I cannot be persuaded on the facts of this case.Despite having listened to the podcasts (including Truth & Justice), I certainly learned new and interesting information through this volume. I feel I have a deeper understanding of Adnan the person and the (sad) impact his conviction has had on his family. I also feel I have come to understand Islam a little better - for better and for worse. Like all religions, it has strengths and weaknesses. It is a faith which I am interested in at least learning more about and coming to a better understanding of.Overall, if this is a case of interest to you, your time will not be wasted reading or listening to this story. There will be some who will never be convinced of Adnan's innocence and that's their prerogative. However, if you have an open mind, there is plenty to absorb here in a well written and compelling story of how being the "other" can be the difference between the life you imagined and the life you're consigned to, by the design of others.Highly recommended.

Unlike so many other reviewers, I cannot say that I could not put this book down. Quite the contrary. Time and time again I found myself setting this book aside while I struggled to cope with the realization, of the truth and just how seriously our criminal justice system is failing us. While Rabia's faith and the loving environment in which Adan was raised come through in this book, acting like leavening to lighten the overall feel of this tragedy. This story is so sad on so many levels that the reader must either maintain an emotional distance, and believe the lie that we while we may not be safe from the bad guys, we have the good guys to protect us, or they must confront, the tragedy that lurks just off screen in their own life's movie. They must come to grips with how dangerous our criminal justice system can become if it is not constantly monitored by we the people.Adnan’s Story is a real life morality play about what can happen to anyone, even you, when enough people in your own circle fall victim to their own biases. I am not just talking about anti Muslim bias here, although there is enough of that to go around. This story is filled with people who believe they are doing the right thing for the wrong reason and those who believe they are doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. In this tale, nobody tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Instead everyone tells whatever story works for themselves. What is missing, except for Rabia, at first, is people willing to persevere in doing the right thing for the right reason no matter how difficult that is. Later on, her example attracts other kindred spirits such as Sarah, Susan, Colin, and Asia, and while it remains impossible to have faith in humanity in general and our criminal justice system in particular while Adnan remains incarcerated, the reader is eventually left with a sense of hope.Even more than hope, I was left with faith. A faith that while we are all subject to the same human frailties that lead us far from the path of righteousness, we know the light of truth and justice when we see it. And, as a species, we are attracted to that light like moths to a flame. Surely, as it happens in this book, some will stumble too deeply into the darkness and will never return to the light. They know who they are and don't need me to call them out by name. Fortunately, they no longer have the power to cast the shadow of guilt over an innocent man. For the rest of us, this book can light the way, it can help us understand the problems and pressures that are built into our system, forces which tend to push like the wind on the ship of justice. We will see that, as any favorable winds does, while it pushes the ship forward, these pressures also cause it to constantly weather off course. This book can inspire us all to act as beacons, pointing out to our elected leaders both the current state of the ship and our mutual goal of liberty and justice for all.Finally let me admit that Rabia is a friend of mine. We became friends after Serial, and she gave me a copy of this book before it came out. Not so I would write a favorable review, that was a given, but as a token of appreciation for our friendship. Meanwhile, I had already purchase an advanced copy for myself before her gift arrived, so I had two. Since then I have purchase a third copy as a gift for another close relative. I expect to purchase even more. If you cannot afford multiple copies, be sure to lend the one you have to someone you trust. It is actually more important to share the message, than it is to retain ownership of the book.

Well written and researched! The documents are well organized and intertwined into the story of the lives the case touched. Some of the Desi and Islamic aspects are a bit filtered in presentation but this is good as not to overwhelm someone new to the cultural and religious aspects of life. Beautiful work. However, I really wanted the book version with Adnan’s handsome face on the cover.He is perhaps the most handsome man I have ever seen in m life. ❤️

I find Ms. Chaudhry's work to be interesting because it is not often that the mainstream is invited into Muslim culture. One of the reasons many Americans fear Muslim culture is that we don't often have a window. The other reason, and this is pretty clear here, is that Muslims are very parochial and seem to be fine moving here and earning American dollars, but they don't want to make friends with Americans or have their children be Americans. This is highly insulting to the people already here. Also, we have many horrible stories of women being treated horrifically in Muslim culture. So yes there is prejudice. Of course, there is no group in the United States that does not experience prejudice from some other group, and every group receives prejudice from the police. Anyway, the community standing behind this young man, I wonder, of Adnan had been female, would they have acted the same? If he had been in a homosexual relationship, would he have been helped by his community? I like to think so, but I am unconvinced. Also, the bit about 'we lie to our parents out of respect' is a terrible cultural practice.

This is a book that had to be written, and Rabia is the best person to write it. Not only has she invested a lot in proving Adnan Syed’s innocence over the past 16 years, but she genuinely cares about the whole Syed family. As they fell apart, she kept it together. Combine those qualities with legal expertise, a razor-sharp mind, and a history of philanthropy, and you have a formidable advocate.She’s also a good writer, with a compelling narrative voice. She understands what her readers want to know, and she doesn’t mess around. The book is long, but not longer than it should be. I could have happily read more. It’s a coherent account of Syed's relationship with Hae Min Lee, her death, his trial, and everything that has happened subsequently, which makes its point and never loses momentum.Along the way, Rabia adeptly tackles all the burning questions people have about the case. Why would Jay implicate himself as an accessory to Hae’s murder if he had nothing to do with it? Why hasn’t Adnan had the DNA samples tested yet? How do you explain the infamous Nisha call? How did Jay know where Hae’s car was? There are logical, believable answers to all these questions, and they’re presented articulately.Rabia does a great job of zeroing in on the weaknesses in the state's case, and explaining how Christina Gutierrez failed her client. Towards the end of the book she also synthesizes a great deal of new or forgotten information that will undermine the State’s case if they opt for a retrial.Rabia also gives us a lot of insight into Adnan’s character, while demystifying the Muslim community that shaped it. There are quotes from the Quran at the top of each chapter, which at first seemed jarring, but they do ultimately make sense. Adnan is a Muslim, and his faith and culture were factors in his conviction. All the myths about culturally-mandated homicide and the "besmirching of honor" are neatly debunked here.One thing that always baffled me was how Adnan lived such a blatantly secular life (“partying, drinking, smoking pot, dating, and having premarital sex,” in Rabia’s words), his only concession to Islam being to hide all this from his parents. Ironically, though, it was only the fact that Adnan concealed his behaviour that made it particularly damning. Nobody blinks twice at white middle-class frat boys who smoke pot and sleep with their girlfriends. Most consider it pretty normal. But because Adnan was an outwardly-observant Muslim, we assume this displays a level of deception that makes him capable of cold-blooded murder – even though Hae did the same things, and also concealed them from her mother.Rabia reframes Adnan’s habitual deception as protection. He was simply shielding his parents from behavior that would have shocked and hurt them, she argues. Whether you buy this explanation or not, the idea that Adnan killed Hae as a way of resolving the conflict between his faith and his life is nonsensical.Wherever you stand on the question of Adnan’s involvement in the murder of Hae Min Lee, one thing is made abundantly clear in this book: the prosecution did not make a persuasive case for his guilt. His conviction rests on a symbiosis of Jay’s testimony and the cellphone records. But the only consistent thing about Jay’s story is its inconsistency, and the original interpretation of the cellphone records has just been thrown out by the judge. What’s left?Rabia’s calm, authoritative analysis rarely wavers. She did get a little too wound up at times towards the end, at the expense of her credibility. She lost me when she started waffling about dreams and weird sensations and Pam the “definitely-not-a-psychic” psychic who recounted in pages of minute detail a dream she had over 15 years ago (“I could hear a bell of some kind ringing and saw the letters s and d or t, I'm not sure which”). Pam seemed to implicate Don (“a young white man in his early 20's or late teens with short dark blonde hair and piercing blue eyes that were bloodshot and crazed”), while a psychic consulted by Hae’s mother confirmed that Adnan was the prime suspect. It’s almost as though clairvoyants are not reliable sources of information.Rabia is at her best when she sticks to the facts. In the final chapters, she ties up all the loose ends, doing the one thing I really hoped she would do: offering an alternate timeline of the day Hae was killed. She doesn't name a suspect or a motive: that’s not really within her purview, although she does touch on some possibilities throughout the book. She covers the movements of Adnan, Hae and Jay on that day, harmonizes the testimonies of virtually everyone involved - from Coach Sye to Asia to the managers of Lenscrafters and Jay’s porn store - explains which evidence is reliable and which is not, and offers a plausible explanation for Jay’s confession.[Potential spoilers ahead]:Her conclusion is more reasonable and compassionate than I expected. She doesn’t believe Jay killed Hae; she doesn’t even believe he was involved in covering up the murder. Nor does she believe the investigators straight-up framed Adnan for a crime they knew he didn’t commit. “They really believed Adnan did it,” she says, “but didn't know how.” From there, it was easy to persuade Jay (who had an existing criminal record) that they knew Adnan did it but just needed proof, and that Jay didn’t have a hope of evading prison unless he corroborated their narrative. Jay complied; the rest was a simple case of confirmation bias. The investigators, consciously or unconsciously, ignored evidence in favour of Adnan’s innocence, and compiled evidence that could be used to affirm his guilt.If you’re on the fence about Adnan’s guilt, this book may persuade you of his innocence. A lot of criticisms have been levelled at Rabia; some of them justified. Others, usually brewed among outraged “guilters” on Reddit, are more easily countered. Firstly, there’s the suggestion that she’s in love with Adnan (an implication guilters also made about Sarah Koenig). This is patently ridiculous – the kind of rumor perpetuated by pockmarked teenage boys who think every woman they encounter is helplessly attracted to them. Rabia says she thinks of Adnan as a little brother, but in fact her attitude to him is parental. To Rabia, he’s still that gangly 17-year-old kid who got in over his head. When Adnan’s father emotionally checked out, and his big brother made himself scarce, Rabia filled that breach.Secondly, guilters have suggested that Rabia is simply championing Adnan to bolster her own reputation. This fails to take into account the years of anonymity and financial hardship in which Rabia supported Adnan without making any headway. There are easier ways to get noticed.Finally, Rabia – along with all who believe Adnan is innocent – is accused of neglecting or even desecrating the memory of Hae Min Lee. The problem is that the unimaginable grief of Hae’s family can have no bearing on the question of the guilt of the accused. Either Adnan did it or he didn’t, and if he didn’t, Hae’s killer is still at large. Rabia sums it up eloquently: “Everyone failed Adnan. They also failed Hae.”This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the case. There are those who are certain Adnan is innocent of wrongdoing, and those convinced he’s guilty, and then there’s everybody else: that vast group of people who are reserving judgment until they have all the information, but feel that the original trial was unsatisfactory. In a way, this book was written for them. It’s not a thrown-together attempt to cash in on the Serial phenomenon. It’s a measured, thorough defense of Adnan Syed, in a compassionate but mostly dispassionate voice, and a systematic dismantling of the case against him.Two caveats: Firstly, don't get the Kindle version. The text is peppered with facsimiles of court documents which are virtually unreadable on a Kindle. I considered requesting a refund to purchase a print copy, but by that time I couldn't put the book down. Secondly, if you've been living under a rock and haven't listened to Serial, do that first.I hope the next book I read about this case will be the book Adnan Syed writes.

Adnan’s story is powerful, raw, wrong, and terrible. Rabia has done a wonderful service sharing it so well. But when I saw the date it was published I cried to realise he still had more years of disappointments ahead.

While there weren't any bombshells in this book, I did enjoy getting to know more about Adnan Syed on a personal level. Chaudry includes a number of letters written by Syed in this book, and it allowed me to understand more why he sometimes came across as guarded in Serial (hint: he was concerned about being labelled manipulative). Chaudry is of course biased, but I cannot fault her for that bias as she truly believes that someone that she clearly loves deeply has been wrongfully convicted. While I do not necessarily agree with Chaudry's view of Syed's innocence, the egregious behaviour of both the police and of the prosecution as well as the poor representation he received from his own lawyer all lead me to the belief that he did not receive due process and he was unfairly convicted. Chaudry's depiction of Muslim culture and beliefs was also both informative and illuminating.

I heard serial quite late in the day - at that time I wasn't sure if Adnan was innocent but I wanted him to be and I certainly didn't think there was sufficient evidence to convict him. I followed the case after and the more I heard and read the more I became convinced of Adnan's innocence.Adnan's case is not the only one where we are aware of poor( criminal? ) police and prosecutor practices to secure a conviction, any conviction whether it is the right conviction or not. Rabia Chaudry's book gives you all the facts and also has a plea at the end to fix the justice system as this is clearly broken and many innocent people are convicted ( one day that could be you/me or a loved one) and meanwhile the guilty go free.

Well written and with a relevant sequence of facts, deliberation which adds weight to the case of this tragic story. There are many facets which simply don't stack up in the case against Adnan Syed both legally and morally if this transpires to be true than a travesty of justice of the biggest magnitude has occurred. It is still difficult to be absolutely certain of guilt or innocence and this is not a reflection on this book or its efforts to present a wholly credible case for innocence, there are some questions remaining however l would urge people to read it not as a barometer of whether this young man is guilty but rather as a reference to see if justice was served...on that note it was not.