Publications

La Syrie au Cœur shares the parallel stories of a Syrian artist and an American journalist who survived imprisonment by opposing sides in the Syrian war, revealing the profound human toll of conflict and the resilience found in survival.

Blindfold: A Memoir of Capture, Torture, and Enlightenment (2021) is Theo’s firsthand account of being kidnapped and held hostage for nearly two years by al-Qaeda–linked militants in Syria and how that experience transformed his understanding of fear, faith, and human nature.

Theo Padnos’s book Undercover Muslim: A Journey into Yemen (published in 2012) is a fascinating and deeply human exploration of Islamic education, radicalization, and the tension between faith and extremism, told through his own undercover experiences in Yemen.

My Life Had Stood a Loaded Gun follows Theo Padnos’s experience teaching writing to incarcerated teens in Vermont, exploring their anger, alienation, and attraction to violence while reflecting on empathy, accountability, and the struggle to reach those who feel beyond saving.