A Stolen Life

A Memoir...

At age 29...

I'm not exactly sure why I'm sharing this here, except that since I read this book, this girl has completely and utterly touched me and completely changed my faith in human resiliance. Not only with her story, because it was horrible... and certainly not always easy to read. I'm sure it must have been even considerably harder for her to write. And I'm not even recommending her book unless you really like true reality kind of stuff... and yet, on second thought, this wasn't true reality kind of stuff so much anyway... really. True nightmare stuff is more like it.

And so why did I read it? Because I am a complete sucker for survivor stories and happy endings... And because I sort of knew how it was going to end to begin with... And also maybe because as a mom and a grandma I think that losing a child would be a heartbreak so huge that it would certainly never, ever mend.

I'll never forget the day Whitney called me and told me that Elizabeth Smart had been found! And of course, though I didn't even know her, I still remember that day as being one of the best of my life. Seriously.

So anyway, this is the story of a girl who was abducted at age of only 11 and spent the next 18 years being held captive in a tent in her abductors backyard. She was finally rescued at the age of 29 along with her two daughters (who were also born and raised in that tent and yet somehow she still managed to raise to be healthy and well adjusted teenagers)...

I remember hearing of their rescue.. but could only imagine what all those years must have done to her...them. I was seriously imagining a much different outcome.

And so I guess this is where all that survivor love kicks in....

Because she is amazing! And due to this I don't think that anyone one should ever again be allowed to blame who they are today on any of their past circumstances. I especially love how she gives credit to all those years of lacking sunshine for the perfect skin she has today...

Her story was horrific and heatbreaking, yet at the same time sweet, inspiring and triumphant!

Anyway, if you want to watch the Diane Sawyer interviews, I warn you they're pretty long, but totally worth it. Though, trust me, you won't be able to fast forward through the commercials...

Diane Sawyer Interview Part One

Diane Sawyer Interview Part Two

What can I say? I tend to read a lot...