A Stolen Life: A Memoir

I have to be honest as I'm inspired enough to write this review after only reading the very first two chapters. I will edit the end of this with my final opinions when I have finished the book, but I just had to add this.First of all, if Jaycee would ever get to read this review, I'd like to tell her what an inspiring, talented, Worthy woman she is. I want her to know how highly valued she is, & to never underestimate herself. She is truly a strong woman even if she doesn't feel like it at times & I pray that she will find healing from her long endured wounds. Jaycee, I wish I could sit down with you & share the love of Jesus Christ, & though it sounds foolish & brainwashed to people who don't really know Him, it makes me sad, for if they only understood, they'd grasp on too! :)Secondly, I am a woman who was domestically physically etc abused myself for 8 years. I never experienced the suffering that Jaycee did as a child, & I would Never compare the very different personal circumstances. I do know what it's been like for me to deal with traumatic abuse, & how hard it is to gain a "normal" perspective when "normal" for us is daily beatings, fear, humiliation, depression, loneliness, & despair. When the world & others, & things happening around you are viewed with those eyes, what is very "ok" for others who haven't experienced abuse, can totally freak out someone who is viewing things through our eyes, and vice verca. Such as something as simple as being at home alone at night. That to someone who never experienced abuse would be easily handled, it wouldn't be something difficult, it would actually be something to enjoy! A time of peace & privacy to watch that movie or read that book or catch up on things you haven't been able to get too! For someone who has been abused, being alone at night is a completely different story. It brings fear, anxiety, panic, extreme tension, nausea, headache, & emotional pain. Being alone brings back horrible memories, gives the mind time to recall past memories of pain & harm. Even without the remote chance of being harmed, there is an intense fear that the abuser is going to walk through that door & hurt you all over again or in my case, attempt to take your life. I can't explain it but if you've ever had the kind of fear where you feel like you can barely breathe, you can hear your heart beating, your muscles ache they're so tight, your stomach feels sick, & you feel you are in intense danger you're not sure you can get out of, that's what it feels like. Breaking that feeling isn't something you can "choose" to do. It takes a Long time. It takes encouragement, extreme understanding, Lots of counseling, learning to revalue yourself, learning that you are safe, being able to break your dependence on others, learning you can believe in yourself, & alot of time etc.Also viewing the world through an abused persons eyes, things that would generally set off a red flag to others who haven't been abused, will be completely overlooked & missed by the one who has been abused. For instance, A man can "worry" about you & have to know your every move, when you get home, when you get to work, when you left the grocery store. For an Unabused person this would quickly be recognized as control, paranoya (sp), & possibly a dangerous person to be around. A red flag would be detected & that person would cut off contact with them because they recognize it as unhealthy & possibly dangerous! An abused person who experiences the same thing is viewing those actions as loving, protective, caring, & feeling that that person is really looking out for the abused person & easily becomes entranced by amount of love that they believe is being shown for they Crave love like we need air to breathe when we've held our breath far too long. They easily can be manipulated & taken advantage of in different ways & levels over & over again. That's why it is So Imperatively Important for Anyone who has Ever been abused, no matter how bad or how long, to be sure that a counselor & proved trustworthy family members are kept very close & know every detail of every relationship as long as the abused person (I will not use the word victim) is healing. Keep this Rule with you at all times: If there is something about someone that you are afraid to share with others, that is a very bad sign that something is wrong. That's when you Run to tell you closest trusted confidant & counselor immediately before you accidentally endanger yourself. Tell them Everything. Don't kid yourself. Healing takes Years. Years. Years. when you think you're done...you find out you aren't & it takes more time. But keep going, when you fall down, get up Every time right away, dust yourself off, tell yourself that you are important that you have High Value! & there Are good people out there who won't take advantage, & you'll be ok.I only write all of this for two reasons, one the people who are reading this book are either those who have been abused & those who have not, & may not understand an abused person's world. I want to encourage those who have been abused, & share just a little with those who may not understand. I think that so far in this book, Jaycee has done a terrific job in explaining what happened to her, & how her life was from her eyes. I'm really enjoying it, & I hope you all do too!PS for the person who complained that she mentioned her cats too much....It does sound "odd" that someone would speak so much about a furry friend :) However, with someone who has suffered abuse at the hand of a person, they learn to distrust people very quickly. People can change how they treat you & act toward you very quickly, & we don't always know when that is going to happen & the more people mistreat, the more we distrust. When someone is mistreated that long by another person, you can easliy distrust Every person, or Most people. Now think of your dog. When you come home from work, before you open your front door, (unless your dog is sick, mistreated, or getting pretty old), do you Ever have to wonder what your dog's reaction to you walking in the door will be? Do you ever have to question whether your dog will greet you happily or in intense anger? No! We all know, the minute we open the door, our dog is going to come running over all happy & tail wagging & licking your face to see you. In fact if you pay attention, just thinking about that right before you open that door every day, you will smile unconsciously knowing how you are about to be greeted! (If your dog is ever greeting you in anger, then you may need to consider how you are treating your dog or if you dog is in pain or real sick!) We don't have that luxery with some people, & definately abusive people. Animals are scientifically proven to reduce stress, increase length of life, & boost morality. To an abused person who is faced with that fear & distrust of another human every day, all day, over a long period of time, with this Never ending, never a break, never a moment of feeling safe; an Animal who is a Constant, Reliable, Trustworthy, object of affection who loves All the time, is an incredible, Incredible thing of safety, rescue, & relief. It is the Only thing that relieves the stress & makes you feel good about yourself, & the only thing you can trust & oddly brings a small feeling of safety even if it's false. You crave love & need to feel like you can trust another & feel safe with another so much as a human being that when fully deprived of it & immersed in the opposite - abuse, an animal will become a Strong being to bond with. So that is why she talks about her cats so much. They are her trusted furry "people" & take on the role she desperately needed. That bond doesn't really break when you heal, you just become more whole. I still have a strong attachment to my cats, & miss the two who have died who gave me comfort while my husband was abusing me. But I also had God. & He is the one who really deserves the credit, for I know that if He wasn't watching out for me, & for Jaycee, either one of us may not have made it out alive.Thank you to anyone who read this long post lol I hope it helped!

Wow!! Thanks to Kindle, I was able to download the book at about one in the morning, and it's now seven in the morning. I have not read a book in one sitting, or in one night for years!People who saw the ABC interview with Diane Sawyer saw how warm and lovely this young lady is, and her book is like the interview but a hundred times warmer and more personal.Jaycee's story is refreshing in that it's written by her, and not from a co-author. Much of the book are pages and pages taken from the actual journal entries she wrote while in her backyard prison. You can tell that her journal entries read in much same way as the rest of the book, so in a sense, the entire book is a continuation of her journaling and her ongoing mission in life to help others. For example, it's hard to tell when you're reading from her old journal entries from her more current writings of when she's authoring this book. It's really all one voice, and you definitely get a feel for how her voice resonates through.Some readers on comment sections of news sites have mentioned they don't want to read the book due to graphic scenes being portrayed. Yes, these scenes are there, but written in a very mature way that I think people should really read. The book doesn't focus on these scenes, as rather the book focuses on simply sharing her story and conveying her sense of hope that's still beaming today. But the sexual abuse scenes are important to all of America as they describe horrifying sexual acts that often go by generic terms like 'rape' and 'molestation.' But what do those mean? Jaycee paints a much clearer picture, and in doing so, acts as the voice for all the victims of sexual abuse that can't share their story.In America, sexual abuse is something that gets pushed under the rug, or punished. It's like there's no in between. Jaycee didn't know what the word rape meant while the act was being done to her, and I remember when I was 11 (I was also born in 1980 like Jaycee), I didn't know what the word rape meant either. I don't think I learned what the word meant until I was 13 or 14. Perhaps if more people learn about sexual abuse, and what it actually entails, then more can be done to protect innocent victims. And more importantly, when people realize what goes on behind closed doors of rapists, perhaps there won't be parole after just a few years for somebody who had already raped a woman for eight hours straight in a warehouse. Jaycee does an excellent job showing how her captor is a repeat offender, one that therapy cannot solve. Jaycee goes on to describe the failure of the therapists that her captor visited, and how they enabled him more than anything by allowing him to make excuses rather than be accountable for his behavior.With all this being said, this book is probably not for young teenagers to read by themselves, as Jaycee shares vivid accounts of sexual abuses that happened to her; abuses she didn't even know the names for at the time. Cautiously I note, the entire book would be a great one for a parent and teenager to read and discuss together, with parental guidance on parts of the book that are tough to read or perhaps need proper perspective put into place. (Parents, you must read the book first, as you're the one to judge if the book is appropriate or not for your teenager). In my opinion, I think it's a subject that needs to be talked about more, even if it's difficult to read, but of course, that's up to parental discretion.The only part I found that was hard to read in the book were the journal entries that talk about her thoughts and reactions to her captor's ongoing talk about Angels and how her captor believed the Angels control people. I don't know how many pages in the regular book, but it was a few pages on the Kindle. While it's tough to read, it illuminates just how unimaginably tougher it would be to live in that kind of manipulative situation on a daily basis.What's also tough but enlightening to read is how much compassion she has for all the animals she cared for. Through all the events taking place upon her rescue, she even asks a couple officers if they can check on her animals and make sure they're okay, at which time the officers made sure to find them and get them temporary foster homes. The irony that develops through her selfless caring often mirrored her own reality: For example, Jaycee starts feeling really badly about one of her cats being locked up with her all the time, and feeling guilty for wanting the cat's company, she shares how a shed is no place for a cat. Yet she never shows any kind of self-pity on her own situation...all you see is your strength and courage.I just can't believe these things happened to an 11 year old girl. You really get a sense into the manipulation of the captors (I refuse to say their names) and how through the horror of everything, Jaycee completely shines light throughout her memoir. It's like there's not even a 'hate' bone in her body -- she's an inspiration to us all; that love and hope conquers no matter. And the best thing is that the entire memoir is written so warmly, it's like Jaycee is sharing her story with you directly at the dinner table. And she goes on to share, now that she and her family are free, something very important to her: The simple daily act of cooking great foods and eating at the dinner table.One last thing, in her journal entries she mentions her goals and plans for her future once she becomes free -- so many of them she's actually doing!

I’d recommend this book to anyone, absolutely brilliant. I finished it very quickly as it was so gripping

well written, good read

Storia delicata, toccante e dura da leggere. È devastante sapere ciò che Jaycee Dugard, allora undicenne, ha dovuto passare per ben diciotto anni. Rapita, strappata via dalla sua famiglia, dai suoi sogni, dalle sue speranze e dalla sua infanzia. Le hanno strappato via anche l'estremo massimo dell'identità di una persona: il nome. Phillip e Nancy Garrido non pagheranno mai abbastanza per quel che hanno fatto. Lettura consigliata per tutti.Per quanto riguarda il libro in lingua inglese è di facile lettura e scorrevolissimo. Basta una giusta conoscenza della lingua per non aver problemi.

A good read of survival. Clearly the kidnappers had mental problems but that is no excuse for what they did to Jaycee.

I have been following Jaycee's story for as long as I can remember ! A few years apart, Jaycee's traumatic life could have been any of ours. Walking down the street on our way to school, hanging out at the nearby deli, shopping with your friends,all of these situations could have made room for an abductor to make his move. Tackling A Stolen Life, the memoir by Jaycee Dugard who was kidnapped at age 11 and not released for 18 years required a stiff drink next to me. I needed it. The details of her kidnapping, sexual abuse and life as a hostage are tough reading. I had to put the book down a couple times because I was so overwhelmed, and I cried at the end. Still, somehow this powerful and moving book feels worth the effort. Dugard wrote this by herself, without a ghostwriter. The prose is spare and simple, but what it lacks in polish it more than makes up for in immediacy and emotional intensity. Jaycee Dugard is a remarkable person not just because she survived but also because she's managed to recount what happened to her in such a clear-eyed straightforward fashion. She does not shy away from acknowledging how much psychological damage she suffered, but she also shows how she's coming to terms with it and moving forward.The most remarkable part of the story is Dugard's determination to help her daughters. Though she herself only has a fifth-grade education, she's determined that they get an education. She makes them go to "school" every morning for four hours and stays up late into the night designing homework lessons. The determination of a mother to take care of her kids is an awesome thing.A Stolen Life is a remarkable book. This is a must-read book. It takes you inside Jaycee Dugard's story to understand what her life was like and how she survived. It can be emotionally tough going at some points, but Dugard is a remarkable woman. Her ability to describe what happened to her in straightforward terms and her efforts to not let it define the rest of her life are inspiring. At the end, she writes about how she has adopted a pinecone, the last thing she touched before being kidnapped, as her symbol: "The pinecone is my reminder that life can always be restarted. But I know I can't heal the world. To me the best place to start the healing process is within our own families."