Doug Bradshaw's Reviews > A Stolen Life

Having followed the Elizabeth Smart abduction, trial and consequences here in SLC, when I heard about what had happened to Jaycee Dugard, my heart went out to her big time and I've been fascinated to hear more about her story and to find out as much as possible about the case. As I finished up her book and take of her own life, I was amazed at how well she seems to have come out of it all and how well adjusted and loving she seems to be.

The book is pretty simple and straight forward. If you don't already know, she was kidnapped when she was 11 years old by a convicted rapist and pedophile and then kept in his compound for 18 years, undetected by his parole officers. During that time she was used as a sex slave and bore two daughters that she raised at the compound. It is clear that he was a manipulative, drugged out, selfish creep who totally controlled young submissive Jaycee in every way. He was married and it's also clear that his wife Nancy was also under his manipulative and controlling spell, because she did nothing to set Jaycee free or to stop the abuse.

So Jaycee lived through 18 years of living in a tent or other areas of the compound without a toilet or shower, raising two young children, being fed when Philip and or Nancy where in the mood to feed her and then, while she was still young enough to be sexually attractive to him, he would have a meth "run" and use her sometimes for several days in a row to perform various sexual acts, etc., after-which he would apologize and promise her it would be the last time.

She is such a sweet and innocent person. It almost seems as if she were still eleven years old when she wrote the story. She was genuinely worried whether her mother would accept her back because she had the two children. She was still confused at some of her feelings for Philip and still believed in much of the garbage he had fed her in his attempt to justify his behavior.

I'm glad it was written from this naive perspective. In the meantime, just as in the case with Elizabeth Smart, I personally feel that capital punishment would be called for and probably too nice. He deserves cruel and unusual punishment.

Reading the story brought out a bunch of thoughts: from the amazing resilience of the human spirit, to comparing her life to the lives of so many children who are and have been abused by their own parents, to what we as a society should do differently to get these animals off the streets. How many children out there are going through similar lives right now?

There's also a direct correlation to the horrible recent case of Warren Jeffs and how he controlled multiple wives, young girls God told him to marry and then the descriptions of his sexual exploits of these children all while his other wives watched on all naked, etc. Brother. Why are we so worried about the Taliban when similar folks are living close by?

I'm happy Jaycee made it through all of this. She is a miracle. I hope she will let us take part in her life in the future. I have my fingers crossed that all will go well for her.

I also have loved watching Elizabeth Smart blossom into one sharp, wonderful, human being. Amazing.