Jaycee Dugard’s memoir: A first look at ‘A Stolen Life’
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Jaycee Dugard’s memoir, ‘A Stolen Life,’ officially hits shelves today. And while a copy has not yet made its way to our book section (ahem, Simon & Schuster), a copy was provided to L.A. Times reporter Maria LaGanga, who covered the amazing story of Dugard’s discovery and the court case that followed.
LaGanga’s first observations after swiftly reviewing the book are on our news blog, L.A. Now.
As much as Jaycee Lee Dugard’s memoir, ‘A Stolen Life,’ is a chronicle of rape and terror, filled with graphic detail and unimaginable pain, it is also a meditation on loneliness. Dugard writes about missing her mother, about fearing she might forget that beloved face. She describes her growing dependence on her kidnapper, Phillip Garrido, her need for his company, any company. He was her captor, but also for long stretches, he was the only other human being she saw. ‘When he is not hurting me,’ she writes, ‘he likes to make me laugh.’... But perhaps the most chilling sentence in Dugard’s book -- which alternates between detailed memories of captivity and ‘reflections’ on the experience -- is this: ‘With time I grew used to all kinds of things.’
Dugard was held captive for quite some time -- 18 years. Kidnapped at 11, she gave birth to two children by Garrido, both daughters, in the makeshift backyard structures where she lived. Although she had only a fifth grade education herself, she made up school for them. Now 31, she is raising them in an entirely new world.
Dugard’s memoir remains the No. 1 bestselling book on Amazon. It’s been at the top of Amazon’s bestseller list since Sunday night.
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-- Carolyn Kellogg
