A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped in the summer of 1991 at the age of 11 and held prisoner for eighteen years. During that time she was subjected to all manners of abuse and neglect, and she gave birth to two children, both fathered by her captor. In A Stolen Life she recounts her story and what it took to survive.

I picked this book up after seeing Jaycee on Oprah. When I saw that interview I couldn't believe this woman's story and all that she had survived. I couldn't imagine being taken from my home and held prisoner for 18 years, while my captor subjected me to all manners of sexual and verbal abuse. I was amazed that Jaycee was even able to function. She had a very positive outlook and while it was clear that her life was forever damaged by her experiences, she refused to play the victim and seemed determined to take her life back. I admired that about her and was intrigued, so I decided to pick up the book.

It has been sitting in my Kindle queue for sometime now and I decided to take a break from all the Young Adult Fiction I have been reading and finally read it. I have to be honest...I didn't love the book. While I think her story is remarkable and I am in awe of her ability to survive the horrors that she did and still come out at the end with some hope for the future, I was less impressed with the book itself. It often felt disjointed and she would often stop in the middle of the story to reflect. These reflections often seemed off topic and they were a deterrent. The story jumped around at times and there didn't seem to be any flow or continuity to the narrative. I still think the book is worth the read. I just think I had high expectations for the book after seeing the interview, and it fell a little short for me.