My Book Pick: A Stolen Life By Jaycee Dugard

In 1991, eleven-year-old Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped by Phillip and Nancy Garrido, who tased her with a stun gun before dragging her into their car as Dugard walked to her school bus stop near her home in Meyers, which is south of South Lake Tahoe, California. While in captivity, Garrido raped her for years, which resulted in her giving birth to two daughters.[6] Despite a sustained investigation, Dugard was not found until 2009, eighteen years after her 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.[7][8][9] Dugard further says that she wrote the memoir to provide an in-depth look at what captives like her have endured, and to reach other survivors.[7]

Before her abduction, Dugard states that she had dealt with an abusive stepfather, and her biological father was absent.[5] After she was rescued, Dugard and her family were awarded a twenty million dollar settlement for the failure of the parole officers assigned to Garrido, a convicted felon, to recognize the situation Dugard was involved in, specifically her enslavement.[5][10]