Everyone remembers 11 year old Jaycee Dugard being kidnapped on her way home. Everyone thought of the horrors she must be going through. Everyone remembers her recovery in 2009. But what has happened since then? After being held captive for 18 years and giving birth to two daughters by the age of 17, Jaycee had to restart her life. Freedom: My Book of Firsts shows everything that she has done since being recovered. Reconnecting with her mother and sister, introducing her daughters, learning to drive, cook, and live. Not long after her recovery, Jaycee wrote A Stolen Life as a therapeutic way to overcome what Phillip and Nancy had done to her. But Freedom was written as a book of accomplishments, starting the JAYC Foundation and traveling the world with new and old friends. What amazes me is how resilient Jaycee has been throughout her entire life. She brought to girls into this world and raised them entirely on her own. When the name Jaycee Dugard is brought up in conversation, you never think of the woman she has become, only the 11 year old that got kidnapped. At 36 years old, she has accomplished more than most of us will in our entire lives. At 36 years old, she became a mother to several horses, cats, and her trusty dog Bull. At 36 years old, she has finally learned how to drive a car. These little things are often overlooked, but mean the world to those who were neglected from learning them. Jaycee's firsts may be coming a little later than usual, but she is still learning.
It really put things into perspective for me when she began talking about how one of her daughters is almost done with college and the other is about to start. Her daughters spent the majority of their lives living in a tent in the Garrido's backyard. 18 years in captivity is far longer than anyone cares to believe.
But, life goes on.
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