Behind the Books
Deserts to Mountaintops Collection
The DTM Collection was a dream born out of Jessica Buchanan's own self-abandonment experience and how she found her way back to the mountaintop of self-love. She is now committed to helping other women tell that story as well.
Jessica's
Story
On October 25, 2011, while on a routine field mission in Somalia, working as the Education Advisor for her non-governmental organization, Jessica was abducted at gunpoint and held for ransom by a group of Somali pirates for 93 days. Forced to live outdoors in deplorable conditions, starved, and terrorized by more than two dozen gangsters, Jessica’s health steadily deteriorated until, by order of President Obama, she was rescued by the elite SEAL Team VI on January 25, 2012.
Jessica’s ordeal is detailed in her New York Times bestselling book, "Impossible Odds: The
Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six."
Jessica has been named one of the ‘150 Women Who will Shake the World’ by Newsweek, and her story was the most highly viewed 60 Minutes episode to air, to date. Jessica is a highly sought-after inspirational speaker and her TEDx Pearl Street talk, ‘Change is Your Proof of Life’ has been the foundation for which she travels the world, inspiring audiences to access their resilience by identifying their own autonomy and choice in the middle of their own life-changing event.
Jessica is the founder of Soul Speak Press, an imprint of Merack Publishing, where she supports women who are ready to share their stories through Memoir Manifestos- books that are one part memoir, one part self-help, and one part inspiration. Deserts to Mountaintops was created by Jessica and started out as a collection of essays from contributing authors who courageously shared their own accounts of survival and reclaiming their voices.
DTM has quickly gained traction and created a movement of women who are seeking community, empowerment and a way to do things differently as they journey through their lives.
In her free time, Jessica can be found hiking mountains all over the world with her husband and
two kids.
Meet the Team
Read more about the ladies behind Soul Speak Press!
