Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero

by Stacy Mattingly and Ashley Smith

Book Overview

On March 11, Brian Nichols, fleeing from an Atlanta courthouse after allegedly killing four people, held Ashley Smith hostage in her own home. Drawing on tremendous courage and faith, Ashley turned to her Bible and a bestselling book that has already revealed, to over 22 million people, their purpose in God's plan. As she read she convinced Nichols that God also had a purpose for him-to be captured alive and to spend his life in prison sharing the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0310270677
• ISBN13: 9780310270676
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Morrow/Avon
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up

Customer Reviews

A truly, inspirational story

Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero is a truly inspiring read. It is a story about bravery, as well as a story about redemption, and a story about what God can and will do when He moves in someone's life. Ashley Smith recounts her seven-hour ordeal of March 12, 2005 when she was held hostage by Brian Nichols, who had shot up the Fulton County Courthouse the previous afternoon, killing three people before he had made his escape. Smith tells the story of her ordeal being held hostage, but she also writes about the murder of her husband Mack in 2001 and the drug addiction problems which cost her custody of her daughter Paige. All of these events build up to Ashley's spiritual awakening, when she finally realizes that God truly does have a plan for her life, and she surrenders herself to His will. A lot of skeptics and naysayers out there have been quick to judge and label Ms. Smith. I'm sure that she would be the first to say that she is neither a hero or an angel. She is only human, but like the rest of us, she is a human being for whose life God has a plan. He has already moved in a mighty way within her life, and I believe He will continue to use her. His plan for her life is far from finished. Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero is an excellent read, and I recommend it to Christians and non-Christians alike. This is a great book.

True to the heart.

Many times God uses ordinary people with very human problems. Even in the middle of trails God gives us something important to do. God was in charge of the situation the whole time because Ashely Smith did everything through God and not on her own. She not only ended up with her life spared but also with the many blessing of God that came after the ordeal was over. The story is a true story and one that many of us who are struggling with our lives today can relate to. I applaud Ashely Smith for setting the example of a true Christian. Not one of us is perfect. Not one of us is without fault. We are either broken or have daily struggles in life. The fact that God used someone just like me to do the extraordinary gives me lots of hope for the struggles I am going through now. I read this book at the most needed time in my walk. I am struggling right now and have now renewed faith because Ashely Smith was honest about her story. Thank you Ms. Smith, you have no idea how important this book is to some of us.

Honesty makes this book worthy to read.

I am going to have to say that this person literally changed my life and walk with God. I am a Christian as well and I admire the honesty that Ashely Smith used in the book. She says it like it was, not hiding the fact that she was a drug addict. She has flaws in her life. She has Christ as her Lord and Savior and we can all see how God works in real life. He takes the broken and makes it new. He takes the weakest and makes it the strongest. By herself, Ashley could do nothing but be taken in as a hostage and perhaps killed instantly as Brian Nicols was searching for a hideout. He did not need company. He was killing everyone on his path. He was stopped by this 26 year old woman who had faith in God through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Christ gave her the strength to go and speak the right words, make the right choices. Even when she made a mistake and realized she had offered drugs to a killer, she immediately repented and regreted what she had said. Once the words left her mouth it was out of her hands. She can only pray, and that she did. This book teaches alot about being a Christian. Honesty is most important. The fact that she did not want anyone else killed, including the killer and showed kindness to him to reach him. Jesus says "love even your enemies". She obeyed. She trusted the Lords words. She hung on to each word of scripture she could remember at the most trying time in her life. She obeyed Gods commands, step by step she prayed quitely and God got her through it, safely. Sure she made a human mistake by offering drugs. She is a human being and we ALL make mistakes. But she was also willing to die and put her life on the line again by returning back to the appartment with a killer who just moments earlier had killed policemen and a policewoman. After it was over, she gave all the glory to God, when the cameras turned on, she kept that glory going even to this day. She says God did it, not her. She is right. Without God in her life, she would not have been alive today. Glory to God! I am glad I bought the book and read it in two days because I was going through some Christian trails myself. I know that not one of us is perfect except Jesus Christ who lives within us. God's Holy Spirit is amazing!!! Trust Him.

For those of you who wonder.....

I am Ashley's Aunt Kim. Her mother and I brought Ashley home with us the night of her ordeal with Brian Nichols. She has been with us (and Paige) since then. I know it is hard for many of you out there to take her story for what it is... A story of redemption. Ashley will be the first to tell you that she was no Angel and no Hero. In fact, she will tell you that she was a drug addict and a woman who made one wrong decision after another. My family lived the horror of those choices she made. We are qualified to comment on Ashley's life. We all struggled with writing this story. We prayed through the process and sought out those that would not lose the message of hope in this story. This is why we went with a Christian writer and Publisher. Yes...God was in this whole ordeal. Yes...he brought some good out of this horrible tragedy. Yes...He wants to do the same in every one of our lives. Yes...whether you want to believe it or not...God has done a miracle in Ashley's life these past 7 months. We have watched her grow physically, emotionally and spirtually. She has shared her earnings in a most generous and Biblical way with her church, victims funds, and other organizations such as Katrina Relief and World Vision. She has made the transition back into Motherhood, seeking counsel along the way. I could go on and on of her healing, but unless you are around her on a regular basis, you wouldn't understand what I'm talking about. Those of you who are skeptics, should have sat in the jail last week as she spoke with inmates on the horrors of her life. I wish you could have sat in on the "Celebrate Recovery" meeting in Omaha as she poured her heart out to those hurting women. Seeing the looks of hope on those women's faces was such an amazing sight. Ashley's comment..." I am so unworthy." I struggled through the book. I cried as I was reminded of all the things she and our family suffered through. But...as I closed the book, I was able to thank God that He loved her enough to reach down and pull her out of her living hell and to give her a platform to share her story to those who are hurting in this world. I realize that my words will fall on deaf ears to those of you who want to be self-appointed judges and critics. But the truth of the matter is this....God knows as well those people close to Ashley what is truly in her heart. We all know the motivation behind her actions and are very proud of her for standing up for God and what she believes is His will in her life.

Sincere Book

The one star reviews you see were written by people who haven't actually read the book and are cynically disgusted with all "book deals" for 15 minute celebrities. I too am a cynic who is highly suspicious of opportunistic "book deals." It is a shame, because this book doesn't deserve much of the criticism leveled by the detractors who are mostly bitter at the genre and not this specific title. Unlikely Angel is a sincere story of a woman living in the tension between the Christian faith and the reality of a struggle with drugs. She knows how she ought to live her life and yet fails to achieve the ideals expected by her devout Christian grandfather and family members. Despite what many cynics will believe. This book is not a brazen grab for publicity by Smith. She is clearly uncomfortable with celebrity and is driven by the desire to come clean and tell her story as a way of exorcising her past. Addiction and secrecy always go hand in hand and this is her attempt to put both these demons behind her. Oh sure, the publisher wants to make money, but Smith is, present tense, healing from a wounded past. I'll also mention that Ashley Smith is incredibly smart. Though she has yet to finish her formal education and she has never had training in negotiation strategies, Smith has brilliant intuition. Police negotiators, psychologists and business negotiators would do well to pay attention to her technique. Is Ashley Smith a hero? Maybe not. Smith did not intentionally put herself in the hostage situation. However, Smith does show sincere concern for the welfare of other people. She goes back to her apartment with her captor to avoid a public shootout when she could have driven away. For once in her life, she was more concerned for others than she was in getting her next fix.