Canadian Edith Blais and Italian Luca Tacchetto, right, who were kidnapped 15-months ago in Burkina Faso, meet with UN Stabilization Mission in Mali chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif, left, after they were freed in northern Mali, in Bamako, Mali, on Friday March 14, 2020.
MONTREAL -- Almost 250 days into her 15-month captivity in Mali, Edith Blais realized her life was no longer her own, and she didn't know if she'd ever get it back.
Separated from her travelling companion, Luca Tacchetto, and the group of women with whom she'd earlier been held hostage, the Quebec woman found herself in a truck racing across the Sahara in the company of yet another group of armed men.
She and Tacchetto, her sometimes boyfriend, were kidnapped in December 2018 by an armed Islamic terrorist group in eastern Burkina Faso as they drove towards the border with Benin.
Some 450 days later, the pair made world headlines after escaping their captors in Mali and flagging down a passing truck, with Blais carrying a jug of water and 57 poems that she'd written in captivity.
The 37-year-old said the hardest part of her captivity was the uncertainty.
After three initial months of captivity, Blais was separated from Tacchetto and taken to a camp with three other women, all of whom had been hostages for years.
One of the women - called Elisabeth in the book - lent her a pen to let her start writing the poems that she credits with keeping her sane during the hard months of solitary captivity that would follow
Blais said that while she's always enjoyed creative pursuits, poetry became her “salvation†during the endless days
After being separated from the women, Blais spent several agonizing months alone with her captors before being reunited with Tacchetto after both agreed to convert to Islam
Lawrence River, sporting dreadlocks and a loose blue outfit, she said she's eager to move forward
After her return, she spent some time in nature in Jasper, Alta., which she said helped her regain her bearings
Luca Tacchetto and Edith Blais are seen in this undated handout photo from the Facebook page "Edith Blais et Luca Tacchetto : disparition au Burkina Faso." THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Facebook
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