Rating: 8/10
Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped off the street on June 10, 1991 at 11 years old and kept in confinement by her kidnapper for 18 years. This is her story of the time kept under the thumb of Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy in the backyard of his mother's house. Garrido did unspeakable things to this girl for 18 years, before she was finally able to go free and reunite with her family. She was forced to live in two different sheds and tents with no running water, in appalling conditions. While in captivity she was sexually assaulted by her captor countless times, leading to the birth of her two daughters A and G (their real names were not used to protect their privacy). This story details her experience and her growth as a person, how she was able to cope in such an awful environment and move forward as an adult. She includes these 'reflection' sections throughout that demonstrate the realizations she had while writing the book.
Let me just say that Jaycee Dugard is so strong for being able to share her story with such frank and open honesty. She pulls no punches, there are several times where I had to stop for a moment out of disgust of the things that this grown man did to an 11 year old. I think it was important for her to share this information, this is a real thing that happened and it's important that people know what she had to endure. Dugard isn't protecting Garrido anymore, she's here to reveal just what a monster the man is. And how the probation and parole system in California failed her. Dugard was in the backyard and despite Garrido's parole officers 'visiting' him, none ever recognized that he had a girl hidden in the backyard. I enjoyed how she peppered images and real journal entries throughout. The journal entries really pushed the point of her true feelings in captivity. She was usually surprisingly upbeat for someone in such an awful situation. She was able to see the brighter side many times, to affirm herself of what was to come. She was lonely and missed her mother more than anything and eventually she was able to be reunited with her.
I've said the good, now I want to point out that there was a big thing that I did not care for in the book. I think this story would've really benefitted from a ghostwriter. The vocabulary was good, but the actual prose was kind of stiff and juvenile. The writing style was truly similar to that of a middle-schooler. Don't get me wrong, she was held captive since the age of 11, so it makes sense that her writing would be similar to someone of that age. It's just a little off-putting to read something with that writing style for an entire memoir. It will make sense once you've read a couple of pages. It really took some getting used to, I was almost too put-off to continue reading. However, once you get used to it, it gets easier to ignore.
Now I want to get back to the good. I'm glad that she included the parts at the end of her moving forward as an adult. The story doesn't stop just because she's out of Garrido's backyard. The story continues because Jaycee is still alive and she has to continue to grow as an adult. She has to learn to make decisions and do things that she never even had to consider before. The media was hell on her after she was first freed, they would evade her and her daughters' privacy like vultures. Since the book was released in 2011, the hype has calmed down considerably. I really hope that she has obtained some peace from the media. And I really hope she's doing well. She mentioned how afraid she is of the world on behalf of her family, how she's afraid to go into public too often because of the threats that lie beneath. I hope that her Therapist has been able to help he get through that at least a little. But she's a very strong woman, it really shows in her writing of her experience. She started a nonprofit organization, JAYC (Just Ask Yourself to Care), which helps victims reunite with their families after traumatic experiences.
I did a bit of follow up research and was pleased to find that Phillip Garrido is serving 431 years to life at California State Prison-Corcoran in the Central Valley. And Nancy Garrido is serving 36 years to life at the California Institution for Women in Southern California. While in captivity, Dugard made a list of things that she wished to do in the future. According to A&E Real Crime, Dugard was able to cross a lot of the things off of this list.
Here's a link to the JAYC Foundation website:
Here are the resources that my follow-up information came from:
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