On June 10, 1991, an eleven year old girl named Jaycee Dugard had eighteen years of her life stolen. Just two years after being rescued, Dugard was able to open up about her horrific experience in her book A Stolen Life: A Memoir. This powerful book starts the day she is abducted on her way to school and ends with her recovery in the present. Although it was difficult to write about what happened to her, as she said frequently throughout the book, it is incredibly important, because not many survivors are able to open up like this. She writes in detail about the horrific physical and mental abuse to which her kidnappers, Philip and Nancy Garrido, subjected her. Countless times throughout the book I gasped or even had to put the book down due to the unsettling nature of her stories. The reader has the power to stop and start reading, but Dugard did not have this luxury for the eighteen years she was held captive. I was most horrified and surprised by Garrido’s ability to control the emotions and thoughts of Dugard. Dugard even mentions she had many chances to escape, but Garrido’s emotional manipulation prevented her from doing this. Mixed in with the many unpleasant stories are reflections and memories, accompanied by journal entries from her time in captivity which allows the reader to get to know her better.
This book was amazing- a twelve on a scale of ten. Although it was sometimes difficult to read due to the mature nature of the content, I would recommend it to age appropriate readers. It is an emotional rollercoaster from cover to cover. Naturally, one will feel anger and hatred for the kidnappers and the law enforcement agents who didn’t notice her. The reader will fear this could be happening in his or her daily life, but are unable to see it. One will feel sad for her family and friends who were also profoundly impacted by the loss of their loved one. Most of all, the reader will be hopeful, knowing someone can survive and thrive after enduring such a horrible experience. Her success in healing serves as a model and an inspiration for us all.
The main lesson of the book is that life is what you make of it. She forgave her captors, because she cannot change the events she endured for eighteen years. However, she can choose how she lives her life now that she is free. Her forgiveness shows us all that we can forgive and continue to live our lives, as well, despite difficult situations.
This book has enlightened and impacted me in ways I could not have expected. I hope you pick this book up at your local bookstore and allow it to do the same for you.
Dugard, Jaycee. A Stolen Life: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2012.
This book was amazing- a twelve on a scale of ten. Although it was sometimes difficult to read due to the mature nature of the content, I would recommend it to age appropriate readers. It is an emotional rollercoaster from cover to cover. Naturally, one will feel anger and hatred for the kidnappers and the law enforcement agents who didn’t notice her. The reader will fear this could be happening in his or her daily life, but are unable to see it. One will feel sad for her family and friends who were also profoundly impacted by the loss of their loved one. Most of all, the reader will be hopeful, knowing someone can survive and thrive after enduring such a horrible experience. Her success in healing serves as a model and an inspiration for us all.
The main lesson of the book is that life is what you make of it. She forgave her captors, because she cannot change the events she endured for eighteen years. However, she can choose how she lives her life now that she is free. Her forgiveness shows us all that we can forgive and continue to live our lives, as well, despite difficult situations.
This book has enlightened and impacted me in ways I could not have expected. I hope you pick this book up at your local bookstore and allow it to do the same for you.
Dugard, Jaycee. A Stolen Life: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2012.