''A Stolen Life: A Memoir'' is a

true crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...

book by American kidnapping victim Jaycee Lee Dugard about the 18 years she spent while sequestered and enslaved with her captors in

Antioch, California Antioch is the third-most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The city's population was 115,29 ...

. The memoir dissects what she did to survive and cope mentally with extreme abuse. The book reached No. 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 Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

. In 2016, Dugard followed up ''A Stolen Life'' by publishing ''Freedom: My Book of Firsts,'' dealing with her life after captivity.

Narrative

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

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, 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. 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. 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. 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 Garrido, a convicted felon, to recognize the situation Dugard was involved in, specifically her enslavement.

Critical reception

The publisher

initially printed 200,000 copies, and later printed another 15,000 to meet demand. A day before its official release the book reached the top of Amazon's sales rankings. MariaL. LaGanga, writing for the ''

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'' wrote that "''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." Janet Maslin, reviewing the memoir for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described Dugard as courageous and dignified in recounting such a traumatic life experience. In December 2024, the book was banned by Knox County Schools in

Knox County, Tennessee Knox County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 500,669 as of a 2023 estimate, making it the third-most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Knoxville, which is the third-most populous city in Te ...

. In 2024 the book was banned in Texas by the Katy Independent School District on the basis that the novel is "adopting, supporting, or promoting gender fluidity" despite also pronouncing a bullying policy that protects infringements on the rights of the student. https://www.katyisd.org/Page/4123

Narrative

Critical reception

References

Further reading