I have just finished reading the memoir of Jaycee Dugard. It’s a very sobering & sad story – yet one full of hope.

Jaycee was just 11 when she was kidnapped outside her home in Lake Tahoe. Her stepfather witnessed the abduction as she was walking to her school bus stop.

For 18 years she was kept as a prisoner & sex slave to her captors, the Garrido’s.

Through her honest recount of these years in captivity (and becoming a mother of two children during this time) we see a brave & strong testament that in despite the worst circumstances – there is always hope.

To her credit & with her newfound freedom – Jaycee has selflessly set up the J A Y C Foundation which is dedicated to help children & their families in times of trauma & abuse.

Kidnapping is a confronting topic, but one that shouldn’t be ignored especially in the wake of the disappearance of toddler William Tyrell in NSW last September.