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Jackie's Reviews > A Stolen Life
A Stolen Life
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I read this in one sitting. I would be concerned about anyone who could read this book without difficulty. I had to pause frequently and just breathe to compose myself, and still feel sick to my stomach when I think of what she endured. It is a horrific story and yet beautifully written. Jaycee Lee Dugard is an extraordinary young woman and courageous in the extreme, not only because she survived her ordeal with compassion for herself as a victim and hope for the future, but because she tells her story in unflinching detail. It is astounding to learn that she does not hate her tormentors, that she does not want that type of negativity in her life (echoing the sentiments of many notable survivors of torture, extermination camps, extreme abuse, etc.) Amazing woman, simply amazing! What was done to her absolutely defies imagination - not only the sexual abuse and physical neglect but the extreme isolation, manipulation, and mind games. And she helps us clearly understand why she was unable to escape even after she was granted a degree of freedom. She is a hero and we all have something to learn from her story. I wish her and her family well. It's humbling to know that she shared her story with the world.
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Reading Progress
July 15, 2011
–
Started Reading
July 15, 2011
– Shelved
July 16, 2011
–
Finished Reading
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Diana
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rated it 4 stars
Feb 09, 2012 10:54AM
totally agree...i too had to stop reading and had to take a few breaths in order to get back to reading..your review is dead on..she is one amazing human being!
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I hear ya on this....I read a few pages then go back and read it again....the man was horrid...Jaycee was a very strong person...I cry for her...a eleven year old going through this with the most horrible craze person I have ever read about!!!
I finished this book and I must say...Jaycee is a strong Christian woman( if you asked me) for not hating the two people who took her away from her family one school day is beyond me...I cried for her, and at the same time, I asked why after she got older didn't she run away...her explanation....her two children..This is an example for us all.God must have been there in her mind to overcome this.
Within a few pages I wasn't sure I would be able to continue reading it. I have never felt that reading a book before.
I too read this book in one airplane ride. I came across it in a little shop at the airport and I had no idea what I was getting into. Though it is what some people may call "simple language", anyone who says they weren't touched or shocked by this autobiography is lying. Jaycee Dugard writes in simple words what millions of people could not even fathom in their entire existence. I felt I was along for the ride with her on every page, even when sometimes that ride was nauseous, unnerving and tear-filled. Jaycee Dugard's story is an inspirational one to say the least. What really hit home for me was towards the end of her book, when she meets with Nancy (one of her captors) for the first time since being released from her kidnapping of around 18 years. She writes that "Sitting across from her...felt very familiar...the feeling came from knowing her longer than I had known my own mother" (243) and if the tears hadn't been streaming down my face before, that was when they truly began. In that one sentence, the entire book is summed up. The psychological distress that Dugard must have gone through and still struggles with due to this ordeal is unfathomable to any who haven't been in her same spot. Let's all hope and pray that no one ever has to be again. All in all, I want to thank Jaycee Dugard for being painstakingly honest and brave for sharing one of the most tragic stories I have ever had the privilege to read.
I read this in one sitting on an aeroplane too! Weird. Disturbingly I couldn't take my eyes off the pages... Kind of like a good episode of Law and Order SVU. I too did have to take breaks but I kept wanting to hear how it ended (was she now leading a happy life etc).
omg i tot i was the only one. i felt the same thing reading this book this book ,reading this book, i had difficulties holding back my tears.
You are so right! I had to stop many times and close the book. I was pregnant at the time when I read this book, I believe that made it even worse for me of course but this is an incredible book. It's honestly breath taking. I couldn't imagine. Your so right also in the second sentence you said. I would be concerned also if this book wasn't hard for someone to read at some points.. But it ALSO kept me wanting to come back. It took me about a week to read.. HETIC LIFE being pregnant, ya know?! Lol
I stopped to take a few deep breathes as well. What she endured was too awful.
Just an inspirational woman...I loved the book despite it being very confronting and hard to read about the awful events that occurred.
I honestly have to keep closing the book and getting up to find something to distract myself from the terrible things that man did to her. I agree she’s a strong woman.
