Photo by Erik Swain about the author
David Rohde and Kristen Mulvihill
Authors of A Rope and a Prayer: A Kidnapping from Two Sides
In November 2008, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist David Rohde traveled to meet a Taliban commander outside Kabul. The interview was risky, but Rohde hoped it would be the final piece in a book he was writing about the Afghan war. A few days later, he would return home to New York to be reunited with the woman he married just two months earlier, Kristen Mulvihill, and begin their new life together.
But the interview was a trap. Rohde, the Afghan journalist working with him, and their driver were kidnapped by Taliban militants and taken deep into the tribal areas of neighboring Pakistan. For the next seven months, they were spirited from one Taliban stronghold to the next as their abductors kept a wary eye out for American drone attacks. In the process, Rohde became the first American to see close-up the thriving terrorist ministate that the Taliban has established inside Pakistan.
Back in New York, Rohde’s wife, Kristen Mulvihill, struggled to navigate a labyrinth of conflicting agendas, misinformation, and lies. Her life became agonizing and surreal as she shuttled between the celebrity photo shoots she oversaw at Cosmopolitan magazine and private meetings with the FBI.
David Rohde, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes in journalism, is a reporter for The New York Times and the author of Endgame: The Betrayal and Fall of Srebrenica. He won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for helping uncover the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia for The Christian Science Monitor and his second in 2009 as part of the New York Times team covering Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Kristen Mulvihill has been a fashion and photography editor at various women’s magazines including Marie Claire and Self. Most recently, she was the photography director of Cosmopolitan magazine. She is also a painter and illustrator.
David and Kristen both grew up in New England and graduated from Brown University. They live in New York.
Press Links
"NY Times Reporter Who Escaped Taliban Joins Reuters"
Forbes.com
"Beach Books for Wonks"
Foreign Policy
"Abducted in Afghanistan"
The Washington Times
"Kidnapped in Afghanistan"
BBC
Review of A Rope and a Prayer
The Christian Science Monitor
"Notes from a Kidnapping"
The New York Times Book Review
A Rope and a Prayer Review
Los Angeles Times
"Kidnapped Reporter and His Wife, a World Apart, Enduring Their Test"
The New York Times
"Kidnapped Reporter, Wife Tell Tale from Both Sides"
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel
"A Husband Captured by Taliban, a Wife Gripped by Fear"
The Boston Globe
"David Rohde and Kristen Mulvihill's Tale of His Kidnapping in Afghanistan"
The Washington Post
Political Punch: 'A Rope and A Prayer'
ABC News
David Rohde and Kristen Mulvihill Speak with WAMC's Joe Donahue
WAMC News
"Report Kidnapped by the Taliban"
CNN's American Morning
David Rohde and Kristen Mulvihill Interview
ABC's Good Morning America
"Challenges Getting Released from Taliban Captivity"
Fox News' Imus in the Morning
"Held by the Taliban"
The New York Times
"A Rope and a Prayer Tells Harrowing Ordeal from Two Points of View"
The Kansas City Star
David Rohde and Kristen Mulvihill Interview
NPR's The Diane Rehm Show
"Book Recounts Terror Inside And Outside Captivity"
NPR's All Things Considered
"Quest for Authenticity Leads to Taliban Kidnapping"
ABC's Good Morning America
"A Journalist's Taliban Kidnap Nightmare Retold"
Time
"Holding On"
Vogue
"Kidnapped"
Vogue
"A Kidnapping from Two Sides"
WNYC's The Leonard Lopate Show
"'My Husband Was Kidnapped!': One Woman's Terrifying Story"
Cosmopolitan
A Rope and a Prayer Review
Kirkus Reviews
"David Rohde: 'What I Saw in Captivity' With the Taliban"
The Atlantic
"A Reporter's Tale Of Ambush And Captivity"
NPR's Fresh Air
David Rohde Interview
Fox News' Kilmeade and Friends
"The David Rohde Puzzle"
New York Magazine
"NYT Reporter David Rohde Escapes from the Taliban"
Vanity Fair
"Kristen Mulvihill on Husband David Rohde's Taliban Kidnapping"
The Huffington Post
David Rohde and Kristen Mulvihill Interview
ABC's This Week with Christiane Amanpour
"The Incredible Tale of Intrepid Journalist David Rohde"
Daily Kos
"Before David Rohde Escaped, a Flurry of Efforts to Win His Release"
The Christian Science Monitor
"Times Reporter Escapes Taliban After 7 Months"
The New York Times
"Reporters Escape Taliban Captors"
The Washington Post
"After David Rohde's Escape, a Taliban Feud"
The Nation
"New York Times Journalist David Rohde Escapes Taliban"
The Telegraph
"Kidnapped US Reporter Makes Dramatic Escape from Taliban"
The Guardian
"New York Times Reporter Escapes Taliban"
CNN.com
"Reporter Escapes Taliban Captors"
The Washington Times
"New York Times Reporter David Rohde Escapes Captivity in Afghanistan"
The Christian Science Monitor
"Reporter Escapes Taliban"
CBS News
David Rohde's Article Archive
Reuters
David Rohde's Article Archive
The New York Times
Featured Book
A Rope and a Prayer
"A Rope and a Prayer is an amazing and devastating book—not merely a story of human captivity, but also a tale of marriage, friendship, patience, and faith."
—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
"This is an honest, moving, painful, and riveting book about war, love, kidnapping, journalism, family, and the war in Afghanistan. It brims with the authors' care and integrity and it is impossible to put down."
—Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars and The Bin Ladins
Speaking Topics
- A Rope and a Prayer: A Kidnapping from Two Sides
Testimonials
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“I would like to thank [David] for his outstanding speech. Unfortunately I was not able to be present in the room on all of his speech but the audience was deeply moved by his story. He obviously is a professional on stage, and he was clearly the highlight of the day. Adding that David is a warm, open and nice person to all of us – this was a really a great experience in all aspects!” - Kjell Sigurd Strandenæs, Senior Consultant, Schibsted Media Group
Please contact us for booking requirements and availability.