A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

  This book was sent to me by Vera at Luxury Reading for review.

On Monday morning, June 10th, 1991, Jaycee Dugard is eleven and waiting for her mom to come give her a kiss goodbye before going to work. There are always kisses & hugs from mom and Jaycee had really wanted that on this particular morning, even having reminded mom the night before.


Jaycee gets dressed and is walking to catch the school bus when a car pulls up behind her. The driver pulls up and asks for directions. The drive is holding something black in his hand and Jaycee finally hears a crackling sound. She staggers backwards and attempts to get herself into some bushes. Her hand connects to something hard & sticky, a pinecone, which she clings to. She has been shot with a stun gun and dragged into the man's car.

She is then covered with a blanket and taken to a location that she does not know. This is the tragedy that befell Jaycee Dugard and stole 18 years of her life from her.

Phillip and Nancy Garrido then proceed throughout these 18 years to hide Jaycee and all of the disgusting things that Phillip does to this young lady. Surprisingly, Phillip and Nancy are able to hide Jaycee in their back yard, which is enclosed by bushes and fencing.

Jaycee is "raised" by the couple, but Phillip also abuses Jaycee sexually. This leads to the birth of two children, both girls. The children are raised as if Nancy is their mother and Jaycee is their sister.

It is so hard to believe that all of this took place without someone realizing what was happening. Phillip Garrido had parole officers who visited the house. Jaycee refers to all of the drugs that were sometimes involved with the relations between her and Phillip and his "runs".

I think the scariest part of this whole thing is that Phillip and Nancy Garrido acted as if they were doing the right thing and creating a family with a young girl who was only trying to survive long enough to be reconnected to her mom and baby sister.

When the part comes about finally revealing who she is to a parole officer, Jaycee must have felt so much fear and joy in equal measures.

Jaycee Dugard probably has a long road to healing and becoming independent-thinking. Kudos to her for forming her foundation and acquiring the courage to find herself after having been restrained for so long, and at such a young age.

Also, how courageous and generous of her for writing her story to help us understand the pain and heartache she and her family have been through. This book is must read for Jaycee's sake.

www.thejaycfoundation.org