Washington D.C. – The Good Men Project, June 26, 2026
One of the most common questions I receive after keynotes is whether I would ever return to Syria. The question is usually delivered with equal parts curiosity and disbelief. My answer has always been the same: maybe someday.
That someday recently arrived.
Seven years after being taken hostage and wrongfully detained inside Syria’s prison system, I returned to Damascus with my wife, Natasha, and our unborn daughter.
In 2019, during the final stretch of a decade-long journey to travel to every country in the world, I was arrested by the Assad regime and falsely accused of being an American spy. I was held for nine weeks, not knowing when, or if, I would be released.
Only after returning home did I learn the full story of what my family, friends, government officials, journalists, Vatican leaders, and countless others had done to secure my freedom.
Since then, I have also learned the sobering truth that many hostage stories do not end the way mine did. Far too often, Americans taken captive overseas never make it home. Every year that passes, I become more grateful simply to be alive and healthy.
Like anyone who experiences trauma, I faced a choice. I could allow the ordeal to define the boundaries of my future, or I could continue moving forward despite it.
Over the past seven years, I completed my travel journey to all 193 countries. I earned both a master’s degree and a doctorate, writing my thesis and dissertation about the conflict in Syria. I published a memoir, Saving Sam. I built a speaking and coaching business focused on helping leaders navigate uncertainty. I got married. This November, Natasha and I are expecting our first child, a daughter.
