Review of Barbara Janik’s Chasing Bin Laden: My Hunt for the World’s Most Notorious Terrorist

I knew Barbara on Twitter well before Chasing Bin Laden was published. I found her to be witty, intelligent, and most of all- real.

Still, when she first announced that her book had been published, I really had no interest in reading it. If there’s one person American Muslims do not want to hear about, it’s Osama bin Laden.

This is especially true for those of us who were adults when September 11th occurred. We received way too much harassment with his name attached to it. Like most Muslims, I detest terrorists and want to see them stopped by any means necessary.

Gradually, as I learned more about Barbara’s research and how she had helped the FBI with other cases, I grew more curious. I had always been intrigued by cyber-research and wanted to know how, and of course if, she had really located such a infamous figure as bin Laden. I knew that even people who did not want to be found and kept a very low profile online could be found given time and persistence. After all, my own mother had managed to locate my non-child-support-paying-rumored-to-be-a-millionaire-ex-husband using similar methods.

So I read a copy for myself.

I found Chasing Bin Laden to be a beautifully written, impressive, and personalized account of one woman’s efforts to use her talents in order to rid the world of at least one terrorist. Barbara had gained experience first by working to locate serial killers and missing persons on a local and national level. She got nothing more than personal satisfaction, a growing confidence in her abilities, and some thanks from the police. Locating bin Laden was a much larger prize, the chance to do some real good in the world and receive a great deal of reward money, which she and her family desperately needed at the time.

But did Barbara actually find him? It took most of the book to convince me, but I believe she did. It saddens me that her discovery was hushed up, that the FBI completely changed their attitude and tone with her (until they needed her help again, that is) and that she has never received a penny of the promised reward.

This is not the first time the government hushed up something and it won’t be the last. Why did they? I can speculate all day, but speculation is often pointless. I believe, like Barbara, that we will learn the truth once the files are no longer classified and become a matter of public record.

Chasing Bin Laden isn’t just a book about one woman’s lone search for bin Laden. It’s a book about a single mom, a book about overcoming, a book about how honest, even painful, writing can be therapeutic and can change our lives for the better.

“Through the hard work of writing my story, I had finally been able to pull myself out of the mire… I was finally at peace.”

I highly recommend Chasing bin Laden and any future books by Barbara Janik.