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Jan 24, 2012

Wendy Darling rated it:

This is a monumental book in many ways. It's one of the few times that a victim of prolonged sexual imprisonment has come forth to tell her story, and the importance of having a record of this first-hand account cannot be discounted. Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped at the age of 11 and held captive for 18 years while a man repeatedly raped her and had her bear two of his children. She was miraculously freed at the age of 29 and, two years later, seems to be overall pretty well-adjusted and happy.
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31 comments like (90 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2011

Readingmomma rated it:

I am definately going to hug my children a little tighter and make sure I remember the promises I make to them after reading this book. I remember seeing Jaycee's face on missing posters and praying for her when I was a teenager. I also remember the day I was watching the news and heard the news of incredible discovery. While I was reading this book I could not stop thinking about when I was eleven years old. Jaycee does a wonderful job of showing exactly how her life was stolen. I guess because More...

8 comments like (24 people liked it)

Aug 17, 2011

NerdGirlBlogger rated it:

Jaycee Dugard's memoir, A Stolen Life, needs to be read by the entire world, because it is that powerful. I have never been more sad, disgusted, furious, and eventually happy and proud while reading a memoir, or in fact, any book in the history of my reading life. I beg you to go out and buy a copy--even if you'll never be brave enough to read her story. In 2006, Jaycee had made a list and one of her dreams was to become a best-selling author. After everything she has been through, don't we owe More...

9 comments like (19 people liked it)

Aug 11, 2011

Jackie rated it:

I read this in one sitting. I would be concerned about anyone who could read this book without difficulty. I had to pause frequently and just breathe to compose myself, and still feel sick to my stomach when I think of what she endured. It is a horrific story and yet beautifully written. Jaycee Lee Dugard is an extraordinary young woman and courageous in the extreme, not only because she survived her ordeal with compassion for herself as a victim and hope for the future, but because she tells More...

1 comment like (16 people liked it)

Jan 31, 2012

Kathy rated it:

The five stars are not for the literary value of this book, but for the honest telling of what these 18 stolen years were like for Jaycee Dugard. I am glad she allowed us to read this story in her own words, and not some smooth, glossy version of her story written by a ghost writer. The simple language enhanced this book in my opinion. You really felt the presence of that young girl reliving her story.

This is a remarkable young lady with more strength than I can imagine ever hav More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 14, 2011

Jae rated it:

When Jaycee Dugard was first found, my fascination with her case originally grew out of a desire to better understand another famous kidnapping victim who had been in a somewhat similar situation: Elisabeth Fritzl. But I have stayed interested for one major reason: Ms. Dugard has been incredibly adept at keeping control over her own story and maintaining her agency at all times. This book can be seen as the culmination of those efforts, since Ms. Dugard has written her own book about her own exp More...

0 comments like (11 people liked it)

Dec 22, 2011

Eva rated it:

I, along with the rest of the world, waited for this book. And I have to say I'm disappointed. According to the info I found on line Dugard did indeed have "help" writing this book. What kind of help I don't know because it's obvious most of us couldn't tell when reading A Stolen Life. Apparently, a Rebecca Bailey, who is a "post-trauma family reunification specialist" is who helped with this book. I couldn't tell.
I tried not to be too hard on the writing while reading More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Aug 08, 2011

Hinch rated it:

A Stolen Life: A Memoir, by Jaycee Dugard, is a disturbing, yet heartwarming personal narrative of the author's abduction, at age 11, and her subsequent 18 year captivity in the backyard of Phillip and Nancy Garrido.

I listened to the audio version of the book, which was read by Jaycee. The prose is simple and direct, yet surprisingly eloquent, and her personal narration adds further emotion to an already poignant story.

The book does not attempt to provide an objective or More...

0 comments like (11 people liked it)

Aug 12, 2011

Leanna rated it:

I finished this book in a day and a half, which probably would have been a day if I didn't have a family. :) I actually bought this hardback, which is something i never do. It's certainly a fascinating story, and a insightful look at how the mind of a manipulator and his captive work. We must remember that Jaycee was just a little girl when this monster took her from her family. She knew what he did was terribly evil and wrong, yet after years of abuse and what amounts to brainwashing, she ca More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Aug 10, 2011

Doug rated it:

Having followed the Elizabeth Smart abduction, trial and consequences here in SLC, when I heard about what had happened to Jaycee Dugard, my heart went out to her big time and I've been fascinated to hear more about her story and to find out as much as possible about the case. As I finished up her book and take of her own life, I was amazed at how well she seems to have come out of it all and how well adjusted and loving she seems to be.

The book is pretty simple and straight forward More...

9 comments like (9 people liked it)

Nov 16, 2011

Ruth rated it:

Jaycee Lee Durgard's life experience is unthinkable, almost surreal. Picture A little naive eleven year old girl taken by force with a Tazar gun and subjected to utmost horrors by an evil crazed man. She was able to survive by following her instincts, reading the danger signals, and finally having to play his dirty game. She was held in bondage and isolation in gorrido's back yard until her need to be with people began to make even him look like a friend. I have always had a concern when peopl More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2012

Ashley rated it:

Let's be honest- this was more of a therapeutic assignment rather than anything else.

Initially I was interested in reading this because I wanted to know the 'complete' story. Unfortunately I felt that what I read I had read before in magazine articles. There was little new information. I felt like to go along with her recovery the author was given free range and told to most likely just 'writer her story'. While I can understand that it must have been quite hard for her I do feel th More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 11, 2011

Kris rated it:

One of the hardest books I've ever read because of the subject matter. Dugard has been through hell and back. Her story is an inspiration to all who face some sort of adversity and want to give up. For 18 years, this woman was held captive, mentally & physically abused (the rape descriptions were the hardest parts to read), & impregnated twice. While she had moments of despair (who wouldn't?), she always held out hope that some day her life would improve. Even post-captivity, Dugard has maintain More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 10, 2011

Katie rated it:

I started the book after work today and just finished. It had to be done in one sitting, I had to read until she was OK.
I am so amazed at her courage, not only in surviving everything that was done to her but then to write this book. It had to have felt nearly impossible to have to relive some of these memories.
It's hard to review a story when it's not really a story. This was her life and it's told in very graphic detail at times. I read some chapters through tears and spent a huge pa More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 08, 2012

Su rated it:

Poor Jaycee! Somehow she came out of that horrible, twisted 18 years somewhat intact. She had to learn new ways of thinking, planning, dig deep to find confidence and independence...all while helping her daughters grow too. How well other mistreated children (and adults) would fully come back into life if they had the resources that were given to Jaycee & her kids! This was an interesting book, although I can't say I was surprised at anything I read, or at her thoughts. I've read enough to un More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 14, 2011

Yen rated it:

Jaycee Dugard's childhood was stolen from her, with this memoir, I hope it will give her and her daughters an opportunity to have a better life. I brought this book in support of Jaycee.

0 comments like (17 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2012

Neil rated it:

When you think you have heard, read it all think again, what a story, what a courageous person Jaycee is, being kidnapped at 11 by some idiot pervert who was listed as a sexual predator, registered, he raped her at 11!!!! gimme a break, he is on parole, parole officer visit his home, regularly, there is a young girl there, then one baby, then another............? and the witch of a wife, cannot imagine the horror she had to live through. BUT THAT SHE SURVIVED IS A TESTIMONY TO HER STRONG WILL TO More...

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Feb 18, 2012

Patrice rated it:

I don't usually write reviews, but I struggled with how to rate this and wanted to qualify my 2 stars. It took courage for Jaycee to write her own story, and probably greatly assisted her recovery. The book also has historical import; the public doesn't often have the opportunity to hear/read an account of abduction and slavery (a worldwide problem of tremendous magnitude) written in the abductees' own words. But, because of the conditions and horrors of her captivity, Jaycee hasn't yet had the More...

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Feb 14, 2012

Manya rated it:

Last time I went to the library I picked up A Stolen Life by Jaycee Lee Dugard. Its a small book, with large print, and it didn't take me long to finish it. But what filled those pages were heart breaking. For those who didn't go to a super market or turn on the TV last year, Jaycee Dugard was abducted by Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy at the tender age of 11. For the next 18 years she was kept in their back yard shed, sexually and emotionally abused, lost her name, and gave birth to two bea More...

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Feb 09, 2012

Pikachu rated it:

Call me Captain Obvious but I'm just going to go ahead and get this out of the way right now: this is not an easy book to read. Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped at the age of eleven and raped repeatedly by a man named Philip Garrido, who subjected her to all of his sick and twisted fantasies. For eighteen years, she was a prisoner - at times not permitted to speak her name or the names of her family, to have a proper toilet, to go outside and feel the sunshine, or even wear clothes.

The pros More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 07, 2012

Sara rated it:

This is such a crazy book that it's hard to believe it's a true story. The author makes it clear at the beginning that she's writing this because she wants other to know what happened to her in an effort to make them feel less alone and know that you can survive just about anything if necessary, and also because she doesn't feel like she should have to hide or feel ashamed of stuff she had no control over. I thought that was a really great way to start off and set the tone well.

Her More...

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Feb 06, 2012

Jill rated it:

I approached this book with some trepidation as I did not want to ‘like’ or ‘enjoy’ a book about someone who has been victimized. “A Stolen Life” however, is not so much a graphic, blow by blow account of the terrible experiences that the author suffered, it is more her reflecting on, and processing through the events from a position of safety, and with the benefit of counselling. The author does describe one particular incident, giving a hint at the type of abuse that occurred and this enable More...

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Jan 30, 2012

Morgan rated it:

This book was very well put together. I honestly thought this was one of the best books I've ever read! It was very easy to put myself in the author's shoes as I was reading it. Jaycee Lee Dugard seems like a very relatable person to me because she's survived a living nightmare, which is a miracle. She is well developed because she is patient and has good manners to Phillip and Nancy, and is very kind to her children. She always tries her best to make them happy and puts them first.

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Jan 24, 2012

Phoebe added it

This is one of those books where I think one can't really rate it. I have to admire Dugard's courage for publishing something so personal. The details about what happened to her were so horrifying, even more so that something like that could happen in our society today.

There were typos here and there and missing commas unfortunately. I could understand why she might not have edited it a ton though because it's probably painful enough having to recall all the ways she was abused and in More...

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Jan 24, 2012

Amra rated it:

In A Stolen Life, the inspiring mother/victim Jaycee Dugard shares the sick and detailed truth behind the kidnapping that had changed her life forever. It's a devastating and gruesome autobiography describing the eighteen years that Phillip Garrido ripped away from Jaycee Dugard. I remember seeing her story on the news and automatically being in awe of her. Once I read the book I couldn't help but get completely pulled in by her life story. Jaycee was kidnapped at eleven and held hostage unti More...

6 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 21, 2012

Bethany rated it:

Jaycee's story was inspiring, compelling, heartbreaking, and hopeful all at the same time. I appreciated moments of her personal reflection "in the present" after chapters written from the point of view of her younger self - it alleviated the intensity - you knew that what was done to her was horrible, but that she would get out, and she would begin to heal. And that is what gripped me about this particular memoir - the story wasn't about the sensationalism of what happened to her, but More...

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Jan 20, 2012

Deidre rated it:

This is a very raw read, for a lot of reasons. First and foremost is Jaycee's voice. She writes the book out like she's sitting and talking to you in person, in one, long stretch. She's hesitant, jumbled, excitable, unsure, and everything in between, all throughout the book. It's not very polished writing at all, but it's incredibly open and honest, like a child telling you a story after dinner of how their day went. That perspective just saturates the reader with a lot of emotion and human conn More...

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Jan 06, 2012

Littlevision added it

A Stolen Life -- a book you just can't rate!

The writing is sloppy, the grammar is horrendous and there are typos galore.

But the rules of a good novel don't apply here - what matters is the content. And by golly does Jaycee have a ton to write about and a ton to share. For anyone who followed the Jaycee Dugard recovery with interest, this book provides a good and personal look at what Jaycee went through during her abduction, life with Garrido, and rescue/recovery.

Th More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 03, 2012

April rated it:

The story of the 18 year captivity of an 11-year old girl is almost to horrific to contemplate. But, her writing feels like she has no actual emotion other than being alone and missing her mom alot. I kind of got a taste of how she wanted to please her captors in order to get more privileges, but, she doesn't go far enough about her dependence on Phillip Garrado for everything. How was she able to survive in such awful, boring, mind-numbing circumstances? She essentially repeats many times that More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 29, 2011

Kayla rated it:

Let me start this off by saying I won’t be doing a review of A Stolen Life because I feel it is the kind of book that you can’t review.

What I will say is this book is a story of survival, strength and bravery. Reading about how the government let Jaycee down between all the parole officers visits and them never once checking the backyard or even the officers seeing Jaycee and her kids yet never saying anything, is a total eye opener. Hopefully changes will be made to prevent this from More...

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