Nigel Brennan's book flying off shelves

AFTER only seven weeks on bookstore shelves, Nigel Brennan's tale of kidnap and ransom in Somalia has taken the literary world by storm.

Nigel Brennan is thrilled with the book’s popularity. Picture: Mike Knott

AFTER only seven weeks on bookstore shelves, Nigel Brennan’s tale of kidnap and ransom in Somalia has taken the literary world by storm, landing on several bestseller lists.

Written by Mr Brennan, his sister Nicole Bonney and sister-in-law Kellie Brennan, The Price of Life has proved to be a huge page turner, raking in plenty of great reviews.

Mr Brennan said the book, which details his 462 days as a kidnap victim in Somalia and his family’s incredible efforts to have him released, had sold almost 6000 copies in the first month.

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“It’s lovely that people are buying it and enjoying it and reading it,” he said.

“We were a very ordinary family that were in extraordinary circumstances.”

Since its release, The Price of Life has landed on several bestseller lists including second on the Dymocks Best Seller List, fourth on the Indie Best Seller List and sixth on the Nielsen BookScan.

“People say they can’t believe we pulled off what we did,” Mr Brennan said.

“It shows anyone can achieve anything they put their mind to.”

Global reading community website Goodreads is a place for readers to review books and have their say.

The Price of Life rates highly, with an average of 4.67 stars out of five.

Mr Brennan now does work as a professional speaker and helps to prepare foreign correspondents heading into hostile environments.

A lot of his time has recently been spent preparing a submission for a Senate inquiry into the effectiveness of the Australian government’s response to Australian citizens who are kidnapped and held for ransom overseas.

“I’ve just put my submission in,” Mr Brennan said.

“It’s quite an in-depth report – there are over 100 questions I’ve put to them.”

He has also been campaigning for people to support the victims of the devastating famine in Somalia.

“It’s the worst famine in 60 years,” he said.

“Millions of people are affected by this and as a developed nation, we have a responsibility to help the less fortunate.”

Mr Brennan encouraged those wishing to help to donate to aid organisation SAACID.

Originally published as Nigel Brennan's book flying off shelves