A Stolen Life: A Memoir is a true crime memoir by American kidnapping victim Jaycee Lee Dugard. The memoir tells the story of the 18 years she spent in captivity in an unincorporated area in Contra Costa County, California. The memoir dissects what she did to survive, and cope mentally with her extreme abuse. The memoir when reviewed in 2011, garnered consistent reviews such as “powerful”, and “chilling” from a number of different media outlets. The book reached number 1 on Amazon's sales rankings a day before release and topped The New York Times Best Seller list hardcover nonfiction for six weeks after release. A Stolen Life was published on July 12, 2011, by Simon & Schuster.
Background
In 1991, Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped by means of a stun gun near South Lake Tahoe, California, while she was walking from home to the schoolbus stop. While in captivity, she endured constant sexual abuse from Phillip Garrido, one of her two captors. Despite sustained investigation, Dugard was not found until eighteen years after the abduction. A Stolen Life is the story of Dugard's 18-year ordeal and was written as part of her therapy with Rebecca Bailey, who specializes in post-trauma family reunification. Before her abduction, Dugard states that she had dealt with an abusive stepfather, and her biological father was absent. After she was rescued, Dugard and her family were awarded a twenty million dollar settlement for the failure of the parole officers assigned to Richard Garrido, a convicted felon, to recognize the situation Dugard was involved in specifically her enslavement. Phillip Garrido impregnated her twice over the course of her captivity, resulting in two daughters. Dugard has stated that her reasons for writing this memoir are threefold: to give people a defined an in-depth look at what she had to deal with while being in captivity, to reach other survivors, and to find some catharsis from this traumatic experience.
Critical reception
The publisher Simon & Schuster initially printed 200,000 copies, and later printed another 15,000 to meet demand. A day before its official release the book reached to the top of Amazon's sales rankings. “As The L.A Times puts it Dugard’s memoir “A Stolen Life” chronicles her growth from victim to survivor, from terror to strength. While it is also an indictment of the parole system and a meditation on loneliness”.
Publication
“A Stolen Life” was published on July 12, 2011 by Simon and Schuster. Dugard followed up A Stolen Life with another book titled Freedom: My Book of Firsts that deals with her life after captivity including her family in 2011.
Genre
A Stolen Life is a memoir of Dugard’s life while being held captive, and about traumatic, chilling experiences she had to deal with. The book uses excerpts from her diary from then, her own commentary on the experience, and other things such as pictures.
Analysis
In looking at her life in captivity in the book, Robert Salonga contends it is apparent that Dugard developed a degree of Stockholm Syndrome, or empathy for her captor in order to cope with the harsh realities of her situation. She mentioned that Phillip Garrido, her rapist, was the only person she had contact with for long periods of time. She also stated that he provided for her while in captivity, when he wasn’t conducting “runs” or sexually abusing her. In a New York Times Article, Dugard is described as courageous and dignified when recounting such a traumatic experience.
