A Million Men by Melanie Martinez could be used as a theme song for A Stolen Life because this song is about a girl being sex trafficked.  She is forced to sleep with “a million men” and she “trying to escape.” Jaycee is sexually abused by Philip just like this girl and the “million men.” They were both “too young to understand,” being at a young age when sexually abused. A Million Men-Melanie Martinez 

I loved this book. It was extremely eye opening and made me think a lot. I can’t imagine going through what Jaycee had to every day for those 18 years. I look forward to reading her other book about life after she escaped.

I watched a Ted Talk today from Jackson Katz. It was called “Violence against women — it’s a men’s issue”  It was about how many of the gender abuse problems come from men. Men abuse women but our culture will blame the Women.  Or Women abuse men and our culture will blame the man.  We blame the victim. We ask “what were they wearing?” “why were they with those people?”  “why didn’t they just leave?” Men are mainly the one’s abusing women or other men.  Jason asks “Why do men prey on your girls or boys, what are we doing wrong in our society?” There may be people more reliable than Jackson Kratz but he seems very reliable.

This relates perfectly to A Stolen Life. Why did Philip prey on Jaycee, what went wrong? How did our society not figure out that this man was a predator? He kept a girl and later her two daughters in his backyard.  It wasn’t like he lived in a rural area, he had neighbors and he was a known criminal on parole.  Why was it never thought to check his property to make sure nothing bad was happening? No one even questioned, and all that time Jaycee was being abused, sexually, mentally, and physically. The problem was not Jaycee, it was never Jaycee.  “Why didn’t she escape when Philip was gone or when she was allowed outside?”  “Why didn’t she contact her mother with the computer she was allowed to use?” Philip had conditioned her to believe that he was always watching and she would never be able to get away. She was scared; just like all the other victims of rape or abuse. Jackson Katz,  Violence against women — it’s a men’s issue

One text structure that is displayed through most of this book is zooming in/zooming out.  The zooming in would be when Jaycee is telling what had happened in those 18 years of captivity.  The zooming out would be in the Reflection chapters when she speaks on her life now.  It appears as though in the regular chapters she speaks as a first-person character, but in the reflections, she speaks more as an author breaking the fourth wall. An example of this can be found on page 147, this quote comes from the character chapter “Nancy Becomes Mom” “He is taking new medication that his psychiatrist has prescribed him.  I have learned that one of his therapists diagnosed him with ADD (attention deficit disorder). He said this therapist changed his life. He finally understands why he felt the need to ‘self-medicate’ all these years. Sine they treat ADD with methamphetamines, he believes that’s what he subconsciously was trying to do all these years.” The next comes from a Reflection chapter speaking about the same things from her standpoint after the release.”His ‘self-medicating’ all these years was apparently due to the fact that he had ADD and bipolar disorder. The therapist recommended Zoloft for bipolar and Ritalin for the ADD. I wonder what would have happened if the therapist held Phillip accountable. It’s also my opinion that another of Philip’s doctors was also an ‘enabler.’ He used to have Philip come to his office every month or so, and apparently, he thought he was a changed man, too.”

Jaycee Dugard’s daughters

I read an article titled Jaycee Dugard ‘I Have Rebuilt My Life’ by Kim Hubbard, published by People magazine. This article was made of quotes and statements by Jaycee after she was released. She spoke of her daughters starting school and her first walk alone, going to her daughter’s school. “It feels so good to know that I can face whatever life throws at me because I’ve been through the worst kind of hell already and survived.” I believe that this is a trustable source because People magazine is widely known and used exact quotes from Jaycee. This relates to A Stolen Life because in the Reflections Jaycee talks about her current life after being released.  Jaycee speaks about hardships she still experiences but gets through them with the help of her pets. “Like anyone else, somedays it’s easier to get up than others, especially when half the bed is taken up with a 100-pound dog and 3 adult cats!” Jaycee has gone through so much in her life already.  Her perseverance is an inspiration.

What was the purpose of Jaycee Dugard writing A Stolen Life?

Author’s Purpose; why someone decided to write their piece, either to inform, persuade, or entertain.

Well, that’s a difficult question.  It seems horrific to say she wrote it to entertain, to most people they think of something funny or happy when it comes to entertainment.  But in this situation I have found myself enjoying this book, I am constantly thinking about it, but it’s not giving me joy necessarily, it has given me other feelings; sadness, hate, empathy, anguish, melancholy, and sorrow.  I would say that whether or not it was written to entertain could only be up to Jaycee, I feel it would be a terrible thing to say she wrote it partly to entertain if that was not her intention.

I would say that of the three options, this book was written to inform the world about what happened. But after reading her notes in the book I believe that she did not write this book for the main purpose of informing, persuading, or entertaining others; she wrote this book for herself.  She wrote this to help her come to terms with the 18 years of her life that she could never get back.

What was the impact that Jaycee left on the world with her story?  

By writing this book Jaycee is able to help other people in similar situations, being abused, psychologically or physically captive.  I believe that anyone who reads this book will be left with a greater ability of empathy and compassion. This is what Jaycee said about why she wrote the book and the impact it can make.

” I decided to write this book for two reasons. One reason is that Phillip Garrido believes no one should find out what he did to an eleven-year-old girl…me. He also believes he is not responsible for is actions.”  “I’m also writing this story in the hopes that it will be of help to someone going through, hopefully not similar conditions, but someone facing a difficult situation of their own-whatever that may be”

What makes her a credible author?

She went through 18 years of torture, no one would be able to tell her story so true other than her.

 

I discovered two claims reading today, and evidence to support them.  The first one came when Jaycee announced to the readers that she was pregnant with her second child. “I don’t know how I know I’m pregnant again, but I know I am.”  To support this she said that her “body has this full feeling.”  She later told Philip that she thought she might be pregnant and he agreed. I can’t imagine being 17 and already having two kids, it must be exciting yet horrifying. After she gave birth to her daughter G, she had to educate both girls.  In her reflection at the end of the chapter, she mentioned that it was their first day of official education.  Jaycee had tried to teach them what she could, but her education only went to 5th grade before she was kidnapped. “I have done my best to educate them in the backyard.”  She explained the methods she used to try to educate her daughters. “Anyway, I ended up winning the school battle and before they knew it, I had them going to school from ten a.m. to two p.m. I would print out their worksheets the night before and put them in special folders I made for each of them. They had for subjects-math, spelling/reading, social studies, and science” This seems crazy to me, I would be a terrible teacher and I’ve had 4 years more education than Jaycee. This book is captivating and I can’t wait to keep reading.

Jaycee Dugard’s daughters

I am a little less than halfway through this book.  It is amazing, yet horrifying, eye-opening, and heart-wrenching.  Jaycee Dugard was abducted walking to the bus stop when she was eleven. Jaycee had a mother, stepfather, and half-sister before she was abducted.  Her captors were Philip and Nancy Garrido who took her to their house and kept her there for 18 years.  Philip Sexually abused her every day for her first 3 years she was held captive.  When she was 14 Jaycee gave birth to her first daughter A.  Jaycee is kept in 2 buildings on the Garrido property, “The Studio” and “Next Door”.  Philip forces Jaycee to go on “Runs” where he makes her take drugs to stay awake for days on end while he sexually abuses her the entire time.  Jaycee is terrified and misses home, but she can run away because she has a daughter and just realized that there is another on the way.  I wonder what Jaycee’s life would have been like if she wasn’t abducted that day.