My Story Paperback – Large Print, September 30, 2014

I don't even know how to start. I am a mother of two daughters and I have hesitated reading this book, because of the things I knew I was going to be reading about. The thought of one of my children being taken away from me is my worst nightmare. I cannot even begin to imagine what this family went through during the 9 months Elizabeth was gone. Even more, I cannot even fathom all the things Elizabeth went through and turned out to be such a beautiful and inspiring young woman.I have heard some people call this book "too positive", or "she had to loose faith at some point". Why? Why is it so hard for a person to believe that they could hold onto their faith no matter what. Especially if that is the ONLY thing they had to hold onto. I don't know what book they were reading, because I could feel the utter despair she felt at times, and it was heart wrenching. I didn't feel that she was too positive, and even if she was, MORE power to her!Like I said before, I had been hesitant about reading this book, but I had heard so many good things about it, that I finally broke down and bought it. I am so glad I did. It was very hard to read at times, but it also gave me a better appreciation for what I have, and what the Lord has given me and blessed me with.Elizabeth went through 9 months of pure Hell. Even after reading the book, it hard for me to fathom that such evil is even out there. I know it is, but to read about it just reaffirms that there really are just plain evil people out there. My heart broke for this poor 14 yr old girl who was taken from the comfort of her own home. Her OWN HOME...Still blows my mind. Forced to do horrible, and unspeakable things for any young woman! Yet, throughout it all, she found ways to find the "good" in life. I don't know who she did it. Even reading what she found as "good", all I could think is "how could she think that was good"? But, as you read on you realize that they were tender little mercies here and there to hep her make it through her 9 months of Hell.I want to believe that I would never question the love my Father in Heaven had for me or my faith in him, but I don't know what I would have done. I want to think I would always remember, and I hope that I never have to find out, but her simple faith, and desire to be with her family again, was absolutely beautiful.There are some things I underlined in the book that I want to share...I don't think I have to worry about giving too much away, since you know how it ends :).Page 8This is a quote from one of Elizabeth Smarts Sunday School Teachers"If you will pray to do what God wants you to do, he will change your life"(She thought about this during a dark and hard night...remembering that no matter what God COULD change her life. Even if it had to be 30 years from then when she outlived her captures)Page 10"When faced with pain and evil, we have to make a choice. We can choose to be taken by evil OR we can try to embrace the Good".(If Elizabeth Smart can feel that way while living with two of the worlds most horrible human beings, surely there is nothing in my life that I cannot overcome, and find the good in all things!)Page 60This is a quote from Elizabeth's mother when Elizabeth was feeling "sad" about not being invited to a party."You know that "popular" is just another name for rude"later on this same page she says"Elizabeth, you're going to meet lots of people in this life. Some will like you. Some of them won't. But of all the people you'll have to deal with, there are only a few people that matter. God. And your dad and me. God will always love you. You are His daughter. He will never turn his back on you. The same thing is true for me. It doesn't matter where you go, or what you do, or whatever else might happen, I will always love you. You will always be my daughter. Nothing can change that"Page 282After she has been returned to her family this is from her older brother Charles"I have felt so terrible, not only because I wasn't there to protect you, but because the last thing I ever said to you was to tease you about some stupid little thing. I am so sorry! I am so sorry. But I promise, never again will I say good-bye without telling you I love you. That will always be the last thing I say whenever we say good-bye again"Then my favorite quote (or few paragraphs :) of the whole book ....Page 285-286From Elizabeth's sweet mother, who I love by the way! She is amazing."Elizabeth, what this man has done is terrible. There aren't any words that are strong enough to describe how wicked and evil he is! He has taken nine months of your life that you will never get back again. But the best punishment you could ever give him is to be happy. To move forward with your life. To do exactly what you want. Because, yes, this will probably go to trial and some kind of sentencing will be given to him and that wicked woman. But even if that's true, you may not feel like justice has been served or that true restitution has been made."But you don't need to worry about that. At the end of the day, God is our ultimate judge. He will make up to you every pain and loss that you have suffered. And if it turns out that these wicked people are not punished here on Earth, it doesn't matter. His punishments are just. You don't ever have to worry. You don't ever have to think about them again."You be happy, Elizabeth. Just be happy. If you go and feel sorry for yourself, or if you dwell on what has happened, if you hold on to your pain, that is allowing him to steal more of your life away. So don't you do that! Don't you let him! There is no way that he deserves that. Not one more second of your life. You keep every second for yourself. You keep them and be happy. Good will take care of the rest"Such a wise and loving mother. I don't think I would have had the guts to share my story. I am sure we have all heard news reports, and stories about Elizabeth Smart. Read this one! This is her account. Her outlook on what happened to her, and her beautiful rescue. She is absolutely amazing. Beautiful. Powerful. Loving. A true example of faith and love.I could go on and on, but you should pick it up for yourself! It really is an inspiring book. A beautiful lesson on faith, hope and forgiveness.

My Story is a book written by Elizabeth Smart that chronicles in Elizabeth's own words the story of how she was brutally kidnapped at knifepoint from her home by a man named Brian David Mitchell. Mitchell brazenly broke into Elizabeth's family home and then without any fear really it seems he went right into Elizabeth's bedroom (which she shared with her little sister) and woke Elizabeth up at knife point and told her if she made a sound or tried to get away from him he would murder her family with his knife. Elizabeth (who was only fourteen at the time) went with him (this really got to me because her parents were only a room or so away and this evil man had the gall to walk right past their room with their daughter). Mitchell made her hike up a mountain and to his 'camp' where Elizabeth would meet Wanda Barzee Mitchell's wife who would be an accomplice in keeping Elizabeth in captivity for the next nine months.Mitchell and Barzee made the young Elizabeth's life a living hell. This man would rape Elizabeth habitually with his wife standing by and doing absolutely nothing to help the young girl (at times in the story Elizabeth even described Barzee as seeming to be jealous of Elizabeth because of all the attention she was receiving from Mitchell; who habitually ignored his wife for the pleasure of torturing Elizabeth as well as playing manipulative mind games on the young girl.) Like telling her after a few months that her family didn't want her back and that no one was looking for her and that if she did try to escape he would kill her and her entire family. On top of this Mitchell claimed that he was a Davidic prophet and that his wife and Elizabeth needed to obey him in all things because his words were god's words. This crushed Elizabeth even more because she grew up in a mormon household and her family had certain beliefs that she followed whole-heartedly because of her faith and the way her family chose to live. Mitchell even took that from her by raping her (she had planned to wait until marriage to have sex) and by forcing her numerous times to drink alcoholic beverages until she would literally wake up covered in her own vomit (this was especially hard for Elizabeth because mormons see their body as holy temples and they want to keep them pure and clean so they do not drink alcohol) by making her drink and in many other small ways of manipulation Mitchell was breaking down Elizabeth's spirit and he was trying to destroy her faith in God (which he did not do). What he did succeed in doing was making the young girl completely terrified of him and his intentions for her family if she tried to escape. So even though a few times they were questioned by authority figures and curious citizens about who they were and who was the young girl with them Elizabeth would stay quiet and Mitchell would do all the talking.That did not work the last time however; after nine months of hell and Elizabeth being first confined in the mountains in Utah, then she was dragged to California when Mitchell was getting scared of all the attention her case still held in Elizabeth's home state of Utah. They stayed in California awhile making camp in the desert and starving at times because Mitchell would leave the two women and go into town to steal food, alcohol, and sometimes porn that he would force Elizabeth to look at; and after would rape her and do horrible things to the young girl. Finally Mitchell and his wife tired of the heat and the general climate where their camp was located in California so they (with a little push from Elizabeth who wanted to go back home so she might get recognized) decided to go back to Utah and cooler weather. (Elizabeth tricked Mitchell in a way making him believe she wanted to go back with him because she 'truly' believed he was a prophet and could do god's work better in Utah; Mitchell in my opinion seemed to want to go back because in Utah it would be easier to find young mormon girls who he could kidnap like he'd done with Elizabeth and make them his 'wives; he had tried to kidnap two young girls after he kidnapped Elizabeth but had never been successful).Elizabeth pretty quickly was recognized by authorities as soon as Mitchell, his wife, and Elizabeth were back in Utah; (They were first questioned in other states because Mitchell had forced his wife and Elizabeth to wear dirty robes and veils over their faces). They didn't have these on when Elizabeth was rescued in Utah by the police; and the police being able to actually see Elizabeth I think probably helped ensure that someone was likely to recognize who she was (even in the hobo rags that Mitchell forced her to wear). After the police got her safely away from Mitchell and his wife Elizabeth was reunited with her parents and then her brothers and sister; after nine months of literally living in hell with a crazed psycho who thought he was a prophet (he was really just a dirty old pedophile who wanted to rape young girls) and his wife Elizabeth was finally safe and back with her family.Its been over ten years since the kidnapping took place and Elizabeth was successfully rescued; she graduated high school and college, went on a mission for her church to France, and eventually met her husband and married him in a mormon wedding ceremony in Hawaii. She also has started a foundation for children who are abused and she does a lot of charity work benefitting abducted and sexually abused children. She seems like even though she had this terrible experience in childhood she has moved on and has a strong faith, a happy family, and a happy and fulfilling life.This book was very moving and although I cannot say I enjoyed it for obvious reasons I do think that Elizabeth did a very good job writing it and sharing her story with the world. As a reader I could not put it down; I just wanted to hug this young girl and tell her that she would get rescued and that everything would be alright. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who has ever been curious about the real Elizabeth smart story and everything she went through. Or just people who enjoy incredible stories of faith and perseverance. It is not a story you will soon forget.

I loved the details and I believe in sharing good books that are true life stories and how positive the book is.

Excellent book very engaging!!

I found this story very interesting.The problem is that, when we read it, we feel that this book has been written more to prove that she didn't feel any empathy or love for those 2 people than to explain her feelings and details during those 9 months.I find it a bit sad that the people judging her, pushed her to write a book for the wrong reason.But by reading it, we can se that she became a strong woman who loves life.

What an amazing story and so well told! She is an terrific example of the power to forgive and make the most of every day of one's life in the face of traumatic challenges. A wonderful testimony of the infinite saving power of Jesus Christ's atonement.

What can I say about this book? It is an horrific story of what happened to Elizabeth Smart. I think Elizabeth is beyond brave for sharing her story. Truly truly inspirational on so many levels.

Bought this for my Mum who loves these kind of books particularly as it is in large print which is great for her as she has failing eyesight..She thought it a great read.

Very happy with this purchase and, it was delivered before the delivery date.