Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis:
In the summer of June of 1991, I was a normal kid. I did normal things. I had friends and a mother that loved me. I was just like you. Until the day my life was stolen.
For eighteen years I was a prisoner. I was an object for someone to use and abuse. For eighteen years I was not allowed to speak my own name. I became a mother and was forced to be a sister. For eighteen years I survived an impossible situation.
On August 26, 2009, I took my name back. My name is Jaycee Lee Dugard. I don’t think of myself as a victim, I simply survived an intolerable situation. A Stolen Life is my story—in my own words, in my own way, exactly as I remember it.
Review:
I wanted to read this book ever since I saw it on display in Costco. However, I didn't have time to read much then and I soon forgot the book. A few weeks ago I was hunting down interesting looking memoirs in my local library and stumbled upon the book once more. Immediately I snatched it up and checked it out.
It took me two days and several sittings to get through the book. Not because it was bad or poorly written. (I mean yes, the sentences and thoughts are not overly complex but at the same time Jaycee didn't have much of an education due to her circumstances). It was hard to imagine that a little girl had to go through this for eighteen years. It's harder to imagine that this isn't the only case and that there are many more children (boys and girls alike) taken advantage of every day. And scarily enough, it isn't just kids that get kidnapped.
Though, I feel it was important for me to read it, to get an understanding, to let her know that her voice isn't silenced. That we can read and hear what she went through, that people are on her side and rooting for her and I most definitely am.
The book is obviously personal and Jaycee shared more than she had to. I know reading some reviews by others they wanted to know more about how she raised her kids or what not. I think it was somewhat implied that she was mostly on her own until her captor quit his job and his wife and he helped her. They also forced her to be her kids' sister, so it feels like maybe she wasn't fully allowed to help raise them. I think she gave us just enough because she wanted to keep her childrens' privacy intact, something I commend her for. I do not blame her for this as the media today is ruthless.
Beyond that people didn't want to know as much detail about what happened. You know what? Too bad. It's something real that she went through and sharing the details, not that she went too in depth in reality, was a method of healing. It's a way of saying that she's silent no longer. She isn't the only victim of sexual abuse and some of the reviews further my opinion that it is a silent crime. People don't want to talk about it, hear about it. People want to believe that it doesn't happen. Jaycee's raw truth is astonishing for people. People want to know what happened but then it comes to a taboo subject and they want to plug their ears and scream.
I find the book a decent read. Make sure you're able to handle the subjects of abuse and kidnapping before you delve into it though. Her bravery and continued optimism is something most people don't have and I think it is truly wonderful the things she has managed to accomplish and is still accomplishing today.
(*Note: I was not asked to review this book)
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