A Stolen Life | Jaycee Dugard | Review
You may or may not have heard of the author of this autobiography, A Stolen Life. Jaycee Dugard was only 11 years old when one morning, as she walked to school, she was abducted from her family friendly neighborhood For over 18 years Jaycee remained a mystery. Who had taken her? Was she alive? What was happening to her? After a series of missed chances by local police to discover Jaycee, she was finally identified in 2009 and bought home.
I remember exactly where I was when Jaycee was found. I remember sitting on my friends bed watching the news. It was unbelievable, a girl thought to be dead for so long was actually alive. It was then that everyone, news and media as well as the general public began to ask questions. As a way of letting the world in to her life to know the turmoil and life she'd known for over 18 years, Jaycee wrote a book detailing her life from her abduction to being found.
It's important to remember that Jaycee was abducted at 11 while writing this book. Some parts are hard to follow and aren't very cohesive. She didn't finish school so it doesn't feel fair to be critical of her language. Jaycee writes in very plain and simple language, detailing her abduction and her life for the past 18 or so years. It's remarkable how much a person is able to remember a traumatic experience. Jaycee's recollection of her life is almost heart shattering, her life is nothing a person would have wanted to remember. I found this book almost unbearable in some parts, especially when you imagine them as it happening to her at 11, 12 and all through her teen years.
The books is really difficult to read at some points. It's almost unbelievable. My heart fell apart for Jaycee in almost every chapter. I found myself feeling so totally angered with local police and enforcement who had numerous chances to discover Jaycee, who was in the grasp of a convicted pedophile. I'm sure, by the end, you will too.
In the end the book had a comforting ending. Jaycee is returned home to a mother who never gave up on her, she has two beautiful children - a result of the sexual abuse she experienced, and she now runs a foundation that aims to help families recovering from abduction and other traumatic experiences.
I put this book down feeling extremely emotional. To think that this happens more than we are aware of his awful. Children are abducted everyday, more often than not they're returned. But a small percentage those abducted experience similar situation to the horrific events that Jaycee details in her book.
I don't feel it would be right to give this book a rating, it isn't here for my entertainment. It is here to inform and invite the world to understand the life Jaycee Dugard was forced into.
To read more about Jaycee's abduction have a look here. To read more about Jaycee's foundation, read here. To watch Jaycee's first interview after being found, look here.
This book was reviewed by regular reviewer Taylah, read more about her here.
I saw the interview, which inspired me to read the book. Very intense, but I can't recommend it more. Had to read in stages because of the subject matter, but it is still a fast read.
ReplyDeleteMarlene Detierro (SEO Dallas)