This book absolutely broke my heart. And I mean truly broke; I cried in public twice. Once in Pret and again on my train. Jaycee’s story impacted me massively.
A Stolen Life is Jaycee Lee Dugard’s memoir of her eighteen years in captivity. She was kidnapped in broad daylight at age eleven, and was kept in her captor’s backyard until she was 29 with two teenage daughters of her own.
The book is a difficult read, to say the least. Dugard’s writing is heartbreakingly honest and emotive; reading this felt like I was speaking to Dugard in person. It seems very therapeutic for her, and it’s almost as though we are watching her recontextualize her own memories with the knowledge she made it out. There were many instances where I had to close the book and take a second, but at no point did I want to stop reading entirely. I felt completely endeared to Dugard, and desperate to see her find freedom.
The memoir is interspersed with reflections from Dugard, providing insight into her emotions at the time and how she is impacted by the events even after returning to her family. These reflections are so important, and I loved their inclusion – it keeps the book centred around Jaycee Dugard the person, instead of the horrors she endured.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in exploring memoirs, as I am. It’s such an important read, but caution should definitely be taken, its not easy.
