Local author relates terrifying life experience

Fifteen years after surviving torture by Chechen rebels later linked to international terrorist groups, Yvonne Bornstein will be speaking about her experiences and signing copies of her book "Eleven Days of Hell, My True Story of Kidnapping Terror, Torture and Historic FBI and KGB Rescue" at 7 p.m. Mon., Jan. 31 at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in the Westlake Promenade.

Bornstein, a Thousand Oaks resident, was kidnapped, tortured and held for a $1.6 million ransom in January 1992 while on a business trip during the political disintegration of the Soviet Union.

According to Hollywood screenwriter Stuart Beattie, Bornstein’s story is "a terrifyingly true thriller that grips you from the first page and never lets go. Yvonne Bornstein has shown remarkable courage and skill by digging deep into her darkest nightmares and detailing them on the page in a way that will leave (the reader) breathless."

Bornstein’s book is co-authored with Mark Ribowsky and is newly published by AuthorHouse. For more information, call Chotin Communication at (818) 906-0344 or go online and visit www.yvonnebornstein.com.