In 2002, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart was abducted at knife-point from her bedroom in Salt Lake City. This memoir details her nine months of captivity under Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee. Smart recounts being forced into a polygamous marriage, subjected to repeated sexual assaults, and moved between campsites in the Utah mountains and San Diego. She explains how her captors used religious indoctrination and threats against her family to ensure her compliance. The narrative follows her eventual recognition by bystanders and her reintegration into society after her rescue.
This book serves readers interested in victim advocacy and the psychological mechanics of survival under duress. Those who study criminal justice or trauma recovery read it to understand how a captive maintains mental autonomy despite total isolation. The reader walks away with a factual account of the failures in the initial police search and a perspective on how the human brain processes extreme fear. It provides a technical look at the aftermath of a high-profile kidnapping from the survivor's point of view.
Inward-looking and clear-cut; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Escapist Adventurer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2013
- Language
- EN
