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A Stolen Life
by Jaycee Dugard
by Jaycee Dugard
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 having. I feel we each owe it to her to read her story. For 18 years she was not able to honestly express what she was thinking and what she was feeling. She felt invisible. This is her way of saying I exist, this is who I am, and I have no reason to be ashamed. I also support her desire to not let her abductor get away with his belief that the world would never know the details of what he did. This book is a way to help give Jaycee back her life and her voice.
In this country that does not honor its children, allows pedophiles to revictimize again and again, and then turns them free to victimize again, we owe the vicitms the respect of listening to their story. The number of times that probation officers actually saw young girls in the home of this known sex offender and never pursued verifying who they were and why there were there is beyond belief, and yet it is true. When are we as a country going to stand up for our children. I would say this book would be too difficult to read for parents whose children who are still under 18 years of age.
This is a remarkable young lady with more strength than I can imagine ever having. I feel we each owe it to her to read her story. For 18 years she was not able to honestly express what she was thinking and what she was feeling. She felt invisible. This is her way of saying I exist, this is who I am, and I have no reason to be ashamed. I also support her desire to not let her abductor get away with his belief that the world would never know the details of what he did. This book is a way to help give Jaycee back her life and her voice.
In this country that does not honor its children, allows pedophiles to revictimize again and again, and then turns them free to victimize again, we owe the vicitms the respect of listening to their story. The number of times that probation officers actually saw young girls in the home of this known sex offender and never pursued verifying who they were and why there were there is beyond belief, and yet it is true. When are we as a country going to stand up for our children. I would say this book would be too difficult to read for parents whose children who are still under 18 years of age.
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Alana
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rated it 5 stars
Apr 14, 2013 09:13am
What I love about this review is when you say that Dugard felt invisible, and this is her way of seeing she exists. There has been much controversy on whether she came out with her book too soon after her release, and what I do not think people understand is that this book we are reading is this one woman's therapy. She writes in her autobiography that she "...did want someone to talk to" (249) about the whole ordeal, and in some way I feel honored to be reading and listening to her speak out. This most definitely is a remarkable woman and no one can say she came out with her writing too early, because none of us can understand her need to speak her voice. For a girl who was once not even allowed to speak her own name, it must be very empowering to have the whole world understand. She deserves miles and miles of respect.
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