Amanda M. (tapcat16) reviewed on 8/16/2011 + 150 more book reviews

Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped from her bus stop at 11 years old and held prisoner for 18 years during which time she was abused, raped, and manipulated by the pedophile Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy. Here in her memoir, Jaycee recounts how she survived and who she is today.

Most of the chapters are set up starting with telling an event from the younger Jaycee's perspective. Jaycee then ends the chapter with a "reflection" section where she discusses what happened from her adult, free perspective. I enjoyed this as it removed the focus from the horrors and placed it on her survivor's mentality.

This book really is not a book about the abuse so much as about how Jaycee survived and her passion now for encouraging victims of abuse to speak up and speak out. Jaycee could have wound up completely destroyed, but she grew into a strong, selfless woman. I applaud her bravery and commitment to not letting hate and bitterness take over her heart.

I recommend this book to those who enjoy memoirs and survival stories and can handle scenes of a disturbing nature.

Check out my full review. (Link will be live on August 18, 2011).

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