Seven years ago, Sam Goodwin was taken hostage in Syria… this year, he returned with his pregnant wife. #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos has the recap.
Dr. Sam Goodwin is an American keynote speaker, bestselling author, and founder of SGI Ventures. In 2019, while attempting his 180th country, Sam was detained by Syrian government forces and accused of being an American spy.
He spent 63 days in captivity — 27 of them in solitary confinement 50 feet underground — and survived through strict daily routine and his Catholic faith. His “Winning Through Uncertainty” framework now equips leaders around the world to navigate chaos and emerge stronger.
This past May, Goodwin delivered the opening address for the 2026 Fides Entrepreneurship Awards in New York City.
One of the most common questions that Sam Goodwin receives after keynotes is whether he would ever return to Syria. The question is usually delivered with equal parts curiosity and disbelief. His 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, he returned to Damascus with his wife, Natasha, and their unborn daughter.
In 2019, during the final stretch of a decade-long journey to travel to every country in the world, he was arrested by the Assad regime and falsely accused of being an American spy. He was held for nine weeks, not knowing when, or if, he would be released.
Only after returning home did he learn the full story of what his family, friends, government officials, journalists, Vatican leaders, and countless others had done to secure his freedom.
Since then, he have also learned the sobering truth that many hostage stories do not end the way his situation did. Far too often, Americans taken captive overseas never make it home. Every year that passes, he becomes more grateful simply to be alive and healthy.
Like anyone who experiences trauma, he faced a choice: he could allow the ordeal to define the boundaries of his future, or he could continue moving forward despite it.
Over the past seven years, he completed his travel journey to all 193 countries. He earned both a master’s degree and a doctorate, writing his thesis and dissertation about the conflict in Syria. He published a bestselling memoir, Saving Sam.
He built a speaking and coaching business focused on helping leaders navigate uncertainty. He got married. This November, he and Natasha are expecting their first child, a daughter.
He chose to keep moving and building.
Part of the reason he returned was practical. Last September, during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, he spent 45 minutes meeting with Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s new president. Before we parted, he invited me to return to Damascus.
The meeting, and ultimately this trip, were made possible by his friends at the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), a DC-based advocacy organization comprised of some of the most impressive and dedicated people he has ever met.
But the real reason he returned was gratitude.
During his captivity, he met extraordinary men. Some shared food in our cell when I had none. Others helped me obtain a pair of glasses after his contacts expired. Some risked punishment to pass information between prisoners. One inmate helped smuggle out a letter that ultimately played a role in proving I was alive. These were not grand gestures. They were acts of humanity in a place where humanity was often in short supply. This trip gave me the opportunity to reunite with many of those men and thank them in person.
When I wrote Saving Sam, I used fake names for several of them to help protect their identities. One of the unexpected joys of this trip was sitting together in Damascus and laughing about the names I had given them in the book.
The trip brought me back to places he never expected to see again. He returned to the prisons where I was detained and revisited the court where decisions about his future were made. He met with ministers from Syria’s new parliament who are working to rebuild a country that has endured years of conflict, instability and suffering.
Syria itself had changed as well. When he left the country in 2019, he had lost 10 pounds during captivity. This time, it felt like he returned home 10 pounds heavier, thanks to the hospitality of the Syrian people. The difference felt like more than a coincidence. In many ways, it mirrored a country working to move forward after years of hardship.
There was another moment that stayed with him. In 2019, one of the reasons he entered Syria on a Saturday was so that he could attend Mass the following morning. He was kidnapped before I ever made it there.
Fast forward to seven years later, he and Natasha attended Mass at St. Paul’s Chapel in the Old City. It was a simple moment, but a powerful reminder that some journeys take them much longer than they could ever expect.
People often ask whether he resents Syria. The answer is no. He resents what happened. But a country is not its government, and a people is not their politics. Returning to Syria was not about forgetting the past. It was not about proving anything to anyone. It was about refusing to let fear write the final chapter.
Too often, people allow their hardest experiences to determine the limits of their future. He understands that temptation. But he learned that growth is not found in avoidance. Growth is found through intentionally taking action.
That is why he completed his travels. That is why he wrote a book. That is why he built a career helping others navigate uncertainty. And that is why he returned to Syria.
Seven years ago, he was unsure whether he would ever have the life he hoped for. This year, he returned alongside the woman he loves, the daughter they are preparing to welcome into the world, and gratitude for the simple reminder that none of us make it through life’s hardest moments alone.
The prisons were still there. The memories were still there. But fear and uncertainty no longer had the final word.
To learn more about bestselling author and entrepreneur Sam Goodwin, follow him on Instagram, and visit his official website.
Read More: Digital Journal’s interview with Dr. Sam Goodwin.
