What a wonderfully written memoir. Jaycee has told her story without bitterness, which is incredible considering the physical and mental abuse she endured. Kidnapped at 11 years of age and raped repeatedly, she recounted factually her sexual violation and her captivity in isolation. After she had two babies fathered by Philip, her captor, she began to look to him and his wife as those who cared for her and her children. The children called him Daddy and Jaycee had to pretend to be their sister. The girls thought that they were a family. After eighteen years they went out in public, with Jaycee fearful of betraying Philip. It could mean being handcuffed and kept hidden in the outbuildings. Observant women working in security at a university contacted police when "the family" showed up there. Philip was ranting about his religious beliefs and behaving in a peculiar manner. Jaycee revealed her identity to the police. Her reunification with her mother has been a successful one. A lawsuit against the police force for not checking adequately on Philip, who was on probation for other sex crimes, over the years has provided Jaycee and her daughters some measure of comfort. Philip and his wife received long jail sentences. No amount of money can compensate for the despair and horror which Jaycee Dugard has lived.
