Elizabeth Smart's Book

So, I didn't really know what I was going to think of this book. I knew the basics about Elizabeth Smart's story and I thought it would probably creep me out but I was also really intrigued by the thought of hearing her own voice tell it. 

I'm really glad I read her book. I made the mistake of starting it while Jayce was out of town, so I won't lie, after reading the first couple of chapters I had a really rough night's sleep. I kept waking up thinking that Brian David Mitchell was going to be walking around my house and I had to get up to quadruple check that the doors were locked and the kids were safe in bed. That first bit where she describes exactly how she was abducted in the middle of the night from her "safe" house with all of her family sleeping in the rooms around her was a little hard to stomach, but the story that unfolds just needs to be heard even if it's hard to hear. Anyways, after that I decided it was mainly a day-time read.

Reasons I really liked the book:

1. It proves that even in the darkest of times you can find blessings to count. I cannot believe everything that she went through as a 14-year-old girl. The list is endless. Nobody should ever have to face what she did and yet some people face worse. The real beauty of it is that Elizabeth herself would be the first to tell you that. She says herself that gratitude was one of the things that kept her going through those unfathomable 9 months and helped in her self-healing process afterwards.
2. Despite the horrific things she was put through as a young, innocent, sheltered teenage girl, she's able to tell you the story without giving you details that are too disturbing or too personal. It's not graphic when I'm sure it easily could have been. I appreciate that. I think it was a choice she made about what she would and would not be descriptive about.
3. The miracles. God lives. He is real. You just have to read it to learn about the tender mercies sent her way.
4. Another angelic story for me to catalogue in my brain. I have had a fascination with and love for stories about people who have died that have played a part in the lives of those still on earth since early college. Almost all of them are stories about people's ancestors reaching out to them. Elizabeth's grandfather whom she was very close with died a week before she was taken and she now knows that it was because Heavenly Father knew what was coming her way and that her grandfather could be of more service to her from the other side of the veil. She needed to have a good man near her at various points of her captivity and she did. That is beautiful to me.
5. As I read it, I was struck over and over again with the confirmation of how important family is. She came from a great, loving, value-oriented family and having that foundation kept her sane. She says so, thoughts about her family kept her going even after truly soul crushing moments during her captivity. She held on to so many wonderful memories with them, to the sounds of their voices, to images of them that she burned into her brain so that she would never forget. I think that her family foundation is also what aided her to never lose faith in God, which I think would be remarkably hard for a lot of 14-year-olds in her situation. Family matters, in a big way.
6. Lastly, I love stories that demonstrate the resiliency of the human spirit. I think that's why I love Les Miserables so much and why I gravitate to books about the Holocaust every now and then. Corrie Ten Boom and her family will forever be on my list of idols. Elizabeth's story is up there too. It is inspiring to read about what people can endure and rise above. A taste of something bitter for the joy and hope that follows.

Then there are the last few chapters, which I dare you not to get emotional over, especially if you're a parent. From when she whispered to a police officer, "I am Elizabeth," to when she sees her parents and family for the first time after everything that she and they had been through. Oh man. Saddle up for that.

Bottom line, I think this book is well worth a read.