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| Borrowed from GoodReads.com |
A Stolen Life (Kindle Edition)
Author: Jaycee Dugard
Published 2011.
Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped at the age of 11. She wouldn’t return to her family for 18 years. When she did return it was with two daughters (ages 15 and 11). While it takes a strong woman to survive being kidnapped and brain washed for almost two decades, Dugard shows she is even stronger by reliving her past by writing a book. Dugard believes she must share her story and shares two reasons why she came to that decision.
The first is that the man who kidnapped her, Phillip Garrido, didn’t want anyone to know what he did to her and wanted it to remain a secret. Dugard states, “I believe that everyone should know exactly what he and his wife Nancy were doing all these years…I believe I shouldn’t be ashamed for what happened to me”. For her second reason Dugard writes, “I’m also writing my story in the hopes that it will be of help to someone going through, hopefully not similar conditions, but someone facing a difficult situation of there own—whatever that may be…My goal is to inspire people to speak out when they see something is not quite right around them”. This is also a good book to study for those in the field of psychology, sociology, social work, and comparable subjects. [Dugard, Introduction]
This is not the first time I have read a true story about a child being abused. Having read Dave Pelzer’s A Child Called “It”, I thought that I would be able to read Dugard’s story. It took me three months to read A Stolen Life. Partially because of my everyday life but also because I couldn’t bring myself to read what Phillip Garridos did to her. Dugard admits that Mr. Garridos was a “kidnapper, rapist, pedophile, narcissistic, pervert” (Page 140). So you may imagine how hard it would be to read a story about a man who shredded what had been a head strong 11 year-old girl and turned her into a child that couldn’t make her own decision. “I never got the chance to become an adult. Thanks to Phillip, I missed out on some parts of normal human development and I feel I am making up for lost time.” (Page 265). The truth is that Phillip would use emotional and verbal abuse to control Dugard, causing her to suffer from Stockholm syndrome.
Dugard’s Stockholm syndrome is even more evident in her journal entries that she kept while she was living with the Garridos. Providing an even more personal look into her life, Dugard believed it was necessary to share that aspect in her book. “It is important for me to include my feelings and thoughts during my time in captivity. A lot of them show how much I wanted my freedom, how much I wanted to see my mom, and bring to light my conflicted feelings for Phillip and Nancy Garrido” (Page 166).
Dugard shares sage advice that many psychologist and counselors may share to their clients, but since she went through this personally, the advice is no longer just advice. With Dugard’s plain speaking way of writing it is now lessons in life that will be accepted as truth and not just as words. Such as, “I’ve learned that verbal abuse can be just as damaging as physical abuse and take longer to heal from. (Page 217).
While I pointed out some positive aspects of her book, there are some draw backs. Dugard jumps times in her life quickly and can leave the reader needing to go back and re-read areas for clarification. This is true after chapters where she writes about her past then inserts a section called “Reflection” for what she was thinking/feeling at the time of writing this book. At times Dugard is very graphic and uses slang for sexual body parts (which might not appeal to everyone). This is especially true to what Dugard writes about Phillip’s “runs”, which are times he gets high and lets the very worst of the perversion and pedophile of himself out. I would not advise getting this book in audio format, unless you have the stomach for it.
According to some reviews on Amazon.com, some people regret reading A Stolen Life due to: the 5th grade level Dugard has to write from, the fact that she omits quite a bit of time after the girls are born (which leaves the reader wondering if Dugard is repressing something), talking too much about her pets (every single pet during her captivity), or because of how graphic the first few chapters really are.
Part of the omission provides the reader’s with a sense of “hope” that the children were not physically or sexually abused, but Dugard does not address that issue. It is understandable that Jaycee received the worst of the emotional abuse but it is unclear to what extent her oldest (only referred to as “A”, real name Angel) or youngest (only referred to as “G”, real name is Starlet) were exposed to by the Garridos.
This book could have been shorter, better organized, and more cohesive with some help from another writer (A Stolen Life was written in whole by Jaycee Dugard). Below I have shared the link for the ABC Special of Diane Sawyer’s interview with Dugard (Dugard’s first tv interview). For some people watching the video would be better than reading the book.
Links
A Stolen Life on Amazon.com (Includes reviews).
Diane Sawyer’s Interview with Jaycee Dugard.
Includes full tv interview.
Kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard on Wikipedia.
Love and Stockholm Syndrome: The Mystery of Loving an Abuser by Dr Joseph M Carver, PhD.
Jaycee Dugard Case- coverage by Contra Costa Times.
“Jaycee Dugard's 'A Stolen Life' -- the first 100 pages” (July 13, 2011) from Los Angeles Times.
"The Origin of Schizophrenia Revealed", the "manifesto" that Phillip Garrido sent to the FBI.
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