completely lost awareness of myself. i heard screaming, i didn t even know that i was screaming and had actually beat at the walls of my own cell. josh, how about you? what did you do to survive mentally? it wasn t so much of a choice of getting through solitary confinement. to me, it was a matter of just getting through day by day, and even day by day was a lot. it was hour by hour, minute by minute. at one point, i remember a low point, just thinking about how i could escape, i was looking at the laundry detergent in the bathroom thinking that if i swallowed that, that would be my only means. it really is their putting me in there and i knew my interrogators were my enemies, but in solitary confinement, my mind became my own enemy. it was all i had and it felt like it hounded me at every step. sarah, were you afraid that you would never leave prison? there were definitely moments that i was.
going on a hike in northern iraq. they were detained and accused of espionage. they were eventually released, sarah first in 2010 and josh and shane in 2011. the three have written a new book about their experience called a sliver of light: three americans imprisoned in iran. joining me now, shane, josh, and sarah. i welcome all three of you. i ll begin with you, shane. describe the conditions inside that prison. what was that like? do you think you might have been treated differently because you were american? thanks for having us. the prison we were in, we were in iran s central prison and we were held in a political ward where there were pro-democracy activists and other political prisoners held in isolation, many of them in solitary confinement. we sometimes heard people being beaten. people told us they were electrocuted or beaten on the bottom of their feet. but we quickly realized that we our interrogators told us
guantanamo? we knew that was very insulting to them. he was taken aback and they stopped actually beating this prisoner. josh, how about life now? how different is it for you after your imprisonment? what was the lasting effect that it s had on you? well, one of the cruel gifts in solitary confinement is i realize that how central relationships were in my life, because i, you know, had no relationships at that point. and so, you know, when i got out so that became central to how i would move through life afterwards. sort of valuing those important things. when i got out of prison, i ran out of prison into my family s arms and i was immediately swimming in the ocean and slept in sheets for the first time in my life. but for a while, my mind was still in prison and it s taken a long time to slowly feel more
but we also knew that the world wouldn t forget about us. we knew that our families and friends and communities wouldn t let us be forgotten. news of the incredible campaign that really became an international campaign, it trickled into the prison through letters, other prisoners. we were really fortunate that the other political prisoners there, instead of being hostile towards us, which i initially assumed they would be, they were very kind. they reached out to us, passed us notes. some of the women would push past the guards and throw their arms around me and tell me they loved me. shane, i know there s a story about how you got a guard to stop beating on a prisoner. you mentioned one word, guantanamo, right? right. there was a prisoner who was in really bad shape. every time the guards would come to his cell, he would just scream in terror. one time, a bunch of guards went to his cell. we heard them beating him, and josh and i start pounding on the door and the guards kind of
breaking news. the american embassy in kabul, afghanistan, coming under fire in an intense attack. word out of iran, the two american hikers convicted of espionage could soon be free. let s go ahead and start with the bold attack on america s signature presence in a war-torn country. rockets and machine gun fire aimed directly at the american embassy in kabul. gunfire coming from every corner of the building. take a listen. and we re now being told that it was a well-coordinated attack. i want to bring some more information straight from a man that i m going to talk to now. he s actually taken governor there in the embassy. i have known him for a long time. he works at the embassy and has been in afghanistan about five years now, but for security reasons, we are not going to identify him. can you hear me okay? i sure can, kyra. good morning. good morning. i sure appreciate you calling in. it seems a little quiet behind you now. when i talked to you earlier, i could actu