Chris Stewart

Elizabeth A. Smart

How did Elizabeth Smart survive nine months in captivity-and manage to forge a new life for herself? This is her story. On June 5, 2002, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart, the daughter of a close-knit Mormon family, was taken from her home in the middle of the night by religious fanatic Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee. She was kept chained, dressed in disguise, repeatedly raped, and told she and her family would be killed if she tried to escape. After her rescue on March 12, 2003, she rejoined her family and worked to pick up the pieces of her life. "The inspirational and ultimately redemptive story of a teenage girl's descent into hell... and of the faith that fueled her determination to survive." -Kirkus Reviews In My Story, Smart tells of the constant fear she endured every hour, her courageous determination to maintain hope, and how she convinced her captors to return to Utah, where she was rescued minutes after arriving. Smart explains how her faith helped her stay sane in the midst of a nightmare and how she found the strength to confront her captors at their trial and see that justice was served. "[The book's] power lies in the way Smart presents herself-stronger but somehow still innocent." -The New Yorker

My Story

Elizabeth Smart

"For the first time, ten years after her abduction from her Salt Lake City bedroom, Elizabeth Smart reveals how she survived and the secret to forging a new life in the wake of a brutal crime On June 5, 2002, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart, the daughter of a close-knit Mormon family, was taken from her home in the middle of the night by religious fanatic, Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee. She was kept chained, dressed in disguise, repeatedly raped, and told she and her family would be killed if she tried to escape. After her rescue on March 12, 2003, she rejoined her family and worked to pick up the pieces of her life. Now for the first time, in her memoir, MY STORY, she tells of the constant fear she endured every hour, her courageous determination to maintain hope, and how she devised a plan to manipulate her captors and convinced them to return to Utah, where she was rescued minutes after arriving. Smart explains how her faith helped her stay sane in the midst of a nightmare and how she found the strength to confront her captors at their trial and see that justice was served. In the nine years after her rescue, Smart transformed from victim to advocate, traveling the country and working to educate, inspire and foster change. She has created a foundation to help prevent crimes against children and is a frequent public speaker. In 2012, she married Matthew Gilmour, whom she met doing mission work in Paris for her church, in a fairy tale wedding that made the cover of People magazine"--

"On June 5, 2002, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart, the daughter of a close-knit Mormon family, was taken from her home in the middle of the night by religious fanatic, Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee. She was kept chained, dressed in disguise, repeatedly raped, and told she and her family would be killed if she tried to escape. After her rescue on March 12, 2003, she rejoined her family and worked to pick up the pieces of her life. Now for the first time, in her memoir, MY STORY, she tells of the constant fear she endured every hour, her courageous determination to maintain hope, and how she devised a plan to manipulate her captors and convinced them to return to Utah, where she was rescued minutes after arriving. Smart explains how her faith helped her stay sane in the midst of a nightmare and how she found the strength to confront her captors at their trial and see that justice was served. In the nine years after her rescue, Smart transformed from victim to advocate, traveling the country and working to educate, inspire and foster change. She has created a foundation to help prevent crimes against children and is a frequent public speaker. In 2012, she married Matthew Gilmour, whom she met doing mission work in Paris for her church, in a fairy tale wedding that made the cover of People magazine"--

Elizabeth Smart who was kidnapped and held captive for nine months describes her ordeal, escape, and becoming an advocate in preventing crimes against children. The text contains episodes of sexual abuse. The coauthor is Chris Stewart.

My story

Lauren Dale

True crime is one of my favorite things so getting to read Elizabeth’s autobiography helped you realize the things she went through and then get to know how she recovered after. Incredible story. 

Annalee Harris

My Story recounts the harrowing events of the 2002 kidnapping of fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart and how she endured nine months' worth of brutalization.

While the story itself is tragic and gut-wrenching, reading this novel didn't give quite the same emotion. It was written with a whimsical, childlike tone, which felt extremely misplaced with a novel of this content. It was written for a mature audience in mind, so why the need to demurely discuss the details of what happened? The language seemed strange as well, using words like "weird" to describe the man who kidnapped, raped, and tortured her daily.

I have a lot of respect for Elizabeth Smart and, having seen her give public speeches or head investigations for True Crime Daily, know that she is well-spoken. My Story does not read like a then twenty-five-year-old retelling a decade-old nightmare; it reads like a shy fourteen-year-old retelling a strange story she once heard to her younger siblings.

laura

Mahasin S Ameen

Elizabeth Smart manages to provide the most "family friendly" version of her time captured possible. She focuses on how her faith helped her survive unthinkable, unimaginable horrors at the hands of David Brian Mitchell and Wanda Barzee.