A Stolen Life: A Memoir

Jaycee was a happy 11-year-old with blond hair and blue eyes, living with her mother, stepfather, and new baby stepsister when she was kidnapped by a sex offender and held captive for 18 years. When she went missing, she was four feet seven inches tall and weighed about 80 pounds. On her way to catch the school bus, she was abducted by Phillip and Nancy Garrido and subjected to years of sexual abuse by Phillip.

During her years as a captive imprisoned in a shed at the back of the Garrido property, Jaycee displays an interest in writing and begins keeping a journal. She is also emotionally attached to the many pets that come and go over the years, particularly cats. These represent the only positive emotional ties available to her.

After the birth of her two daughters by Garrido, Jaycee becomes a fiercely devoted mother and will do anything to protect them. This includes cooperating with her abductor, who has persuaded her that she is helpless to escape and couldn’t survive on her own in the world. Although Jaycee’s nature is somewhat fearful, she is eventually freed from Garrido’s clutches and restored to her birth family. In the years after her liberation, she founds an organization called the