Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of A Stolen Life: A Memoir

A Stolen Life: A Memoir
reviewed on + 57 more book reviews


Finding it difficult to write a review about this book. My curiosity regarding what could have happened to this girl/woman during the 18 years of her captivity kept me reading past the gruesome account of the abduction and the sexual attacks of an 11 year old girl. Beyond those first few chapters, is an account of what can happen to the mind that helps to keep one prisoner by our own infallibilities, for much of the time that Jaycee was a prisoner was because she was unable to act on her own behalf to free herself or alert others of her dilemma. She seems to be still much a "little girl", but is growing probably daily. I know that most feel the probation department failed her, but after reading this, I also feel that she helped in that regard. Not by her own will to do so, but by her mind and inability to act when opportunity presented itself. She had ample opportunities to alert the public and the officers that she needed help and did not take the opportunities when they presented themselves. The book shows that Jayee is still allowng outside influences to run her life by not interacting with her daughters because she does not want to be hounded by the news reporters. Hope she gets past this before she looses time with her daughters as it is said that "yesterday's news line today's wastebaskets" and that is generally true.

The Dugard's have sucessfully sued the California probation enforcement agency for 11 million dollars (which I really feel is sad, because those that pay are the general public). She has a best selling book to help with more money, and I have read that she now has a suit against the Federal Government (do not remember the reason given for that one). How much money does this one person need to help her to move forward? I needed to know whether the suit was warranted...one needs to read to figure it out for oneself.