Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed: A Memoir of the Cleveland Kidnappings

This is the fourth memoir from a kidnapping victim that I’ve read (the other ones were from Jaycee Dugard, Elizabeth Smart, and Natascha Kampusch). This was the best written one out of all of them. Michelle Knight collaborated with another writer to write her memoir, and you can tell. The writing is very well-organized, well-paced, and descriptive. It absolutely looks like the information was provided by Michelle Knight, and then “massaged” by a professional to make the writing as engaging as possible. This book is also different from the stories from other kidnapping victims in that an awful lot of the book discusses Michelle’s life before the kidnapping, and I just have to say that Michelle had about the most horrible childhood I can imagine. There were some passages that were so horrifying that I had to stop and re-read them, because one time through just wasn’t enough to process the shock of what I was reading. For example, Michelle mentioned at one point that when she first got her period, she was unaware that she was menstruating because she’d been bleeding from there since she was five. These are not sentences you can just skim over! At another point, she talks about running away and sleeping in a garbage can under an overpass, freezing and starving, because she’d rather be homeless and penniless than stay in her home environment. And then came the chapter on her son. Let this be a warning to you: this book made me cry. I don’t mean tear up, I mean gasp and sob. No other book in my entire adult life has wrecked me emotionally the way this did. After a childhood in which her parents ignored her, her uncle raped her, and her classmates at school bullied her, Michelle had a baby and finally got to experience love. Despite her poverty and living situation, she worked furiously to give her son the best home she possibly could. Then one day, as she was out looking for a job, her mother’s boyfriend hurt her son, and Child Protective Services took her son away from her. Like I said, this is the fourth memoir on kidnapping that I’ve read, so I have read a lot of horrifying stuff. I’ve read about rape, beating, psychological torture and manipulation. But man. Imagine if despite your very best efforts, you were unable to provide a safe home environment for your child. Imagine if that child was taken from you, and for all its agony, deep-down, you knew that the government was right and you couldn’t provide a safe home environment for your child. And imagine that this was the same home environment that you were raised in and were still stuck in. Well, soon after this Michelle was kidnapped and brought into Ariel Castro’s home. Even in his home, she was bullied. She was treated the worst of the three victims. Where Amanda was allowed to keep her baby, Michelle was starved and beaten and forced to miscarry six times. While Gina and Amanda were examined at the hospital and released quickly thereafter, Michelle had to stay at the hospital for days because the injuries Ariel inflicted were so bad, in some cases irreversible. Reading what Michelle held onto emotionally was incredibly inspiring. When she was little, she tried to be strong to take care of her younger brothers. In captivity, she stayed strong in hopes of one day seeing her son and assuring him that she loved him and hadn’t abandoned him. She stayed strong to encourage Gina, her “roommate” in the captivity, to stay strong as well. Even after a lifetime of abuse and mistreatment, it was the hope of encouraging and supporting other people that enabled her to stay strong. That is just incredibly amazing and inspiring. This was a truly horrifying and emotionally jarring book. It’s also a portrait of the human condition. You see what horrible behavior some human beings are capable of, but also what heroic and good-hearted behavior other people are capable of. It opens your eyes to the world.

To the trashy person who says they are related!! How dare you!! Maybe it was your husband who did all them horrible things to her when she lived at home!! Why didn't you all look for her? You didn't care that's why!! You were to involved in yourselves to care! You also NEVER reported her missing, or made a police report! No wonder Michelle wants nothing to do with you! I don't blame her! You never cared for her! She is SO better off without out any of you! As for the book... This IS a phenomenal story!! Very touching!!! I could not put the book down. The story will rock u 2 it's core, but Michelle's personality will totally leave you with a smile and laughter that will make you giggle. Her story is so touching, and it proves, that anything is possible. It also shows the love a mother has for her child, is what kept her will to live AND survive!! I Would love to give Michelle, a huge hug for providing such remarkable courage! She has made such an impact in my life, and I have never met her! She has also made me open my eyes, to have things looked at when things don't seem right. I dont care what anyone says about profiting off her story, after what she grew up with, what she endured, not only with her childhood, but with the "dude", and having the strength to not only survive, but live to tell her story... SHE DESERVES to profit from it!! I hope god has mercy on her families soul, for what all they put her through, and turning a blind eye. U can see pain she has been through by pain in her eyes, and the truth could not be any clearer! This book was written so well, in many many many ways, that I will share it with my 11 and 13 yr old! It will not only show them that there are worthless parents out there, but it will teach them, that anything could happen to anyone, and not to be so trusting!! Michelle Knight; stay strong sister, and remember that you are soooooo loved by many, including from this momma, all the way from Hutchinson kansas. Xoxoxox May you for ever have the peace, love, and strength that you sooooo deserve. Rock on sister!!

After reading this book in one sitting I will never complain about my life again. It's an easy read, factual and descriptive but Michelle's honesty intelligence and authenticity shine through . I followed this story in disbelief last year when it was on all the news stations and now I know the full facts of this real life horror story. Michelle Knight is a woman of courage and faith , her resilience and strength of mind shine through. I really don't believe I or many of us could come out the other side of what she endured, with her sanity, optimism and ability to forgive- not just the evil madman who enslaved & tortured her for 11 years as a sex slave, but her mother father and family who shamefully failed to protect her as a child and young adult. The truth of this story is worse than you would Imagine. It make me remember that I live in a world where anything can happen at any time, not to take my freedom for granted and to be first a member of my own community and second a private individual. So many missed opportunities for these girls to have been found, probably because people could not imagine such a thing could happen in their own neighborhood, and would rather believe a mad mans lies. I wish her and the other two girls all the happiness they deserve. The least I can do is buy her book.

Also ich muss sagen, als ich anfangs von dem Fall hörte und Michelle im Fernsehen sah, hatte ich über Michelle eine geteilte Meinung. Dann sah ich sich aber vor einigen Wochen im ZDF bei "Aktenzeichen XY ... Spezial" und mein Interesse war geweckt. Also bestellte ich mit die Kindle Ausgabe in Englisch. Ich konnte das Buch dann kaum noch aus den Händen legen. Was für ein trauriges Leben. Schon ihr Start war Dank ihrer Familie und Verwandten nicht der allerbeste. Schule durfte sie kaum besuchen, Körperpflege war in ihrer Familie scheinbar ein Fremdwort und dann noch dieser Verwandte, der sich an ihr regelmäßig verging. Unglaublich traurig! Ihr Trost ist dann ihr Sohn, auch wenn dessen Zeugung bzw. die Geschichte mit seinem Vater auch nicht unbedingt erfreulich ist. Während sie sich nach einem Job umschaut, kommt es zu einem Vorfall mit dem Freund ihrer Mutter und ihrem Sohn, bei dem ihr Sohn mit einer Verletzung im Krankenhaus landet. Das Kind wird ihr schließlich weggenommen und da sie kein Auto hat und auch kein Geld für öffentliche Verkehrsmittel, versucht sie, ihren Sohn zu Fuß zu besuchen oder zu Anhörungen zu gehen. Dabei wird sie eines Tages vom "Dude" abgefangen und unter für Außenstehende absurden Erklärungen in sein Haus gelockt, wo ihr 11-jähirges Martyrium beginnen soll. Man fragt sich, warum ist sie mitgegangen, wenn es ihr doch selbst komisch vor kam. Aber wie das so ist. Manchmal handelt man komisch und fragt sich danach, warum man das gemacht hat. Und man will ja auch nicht komisch da stehen. Immerhin war es der Vater einer Freundin. Mich hat die Kraft und der Mut dieser Frau fasziniert. Sie hat nicht aufgegeben, hat sich als die "große Schwester" für ihre Mitgefangenen eingesetzt. Die arme Frau hat furchtbare Abtreibungen durchlitten. Trotzdem hat sie sich nach ihrer Befreiung getraut, ihrem Peiniger vor Gericht in die Augen zu schauen und auszusagen. Ohne ihr Verschulden, hat sie ihr Kind verloren. Es wurde schließlich adoptiert. Immer wieder wurde ihr vor Augen geführt, dass ihr Verschwinden niemanden interessiere. Trotzdem hat sie gekämpft und sie hat überlebt. Dieses Buch ist definitv lesenswert. Es ist keine Effekthascherei, meiner Ansicht nach.

Incredibilmente non avevo mai sentito parlare di questo fatto di cronaca. Poi quest'estate ho visto uno speciale sul 9 (davvero ben fatto) e ne sono rimasta scioccata. Tutte le storie mi hanno colpito, mi hanno fatta stare male, ma Michelle mi ha colpito per la sua incredibile forza. Ho scoperto che aveva scritto dei libri e ho comprato subito il primo. É un pugno nello stomaco, ma é anche un libro di speranza, di coraggio, ti sprona a non arrenderti mai. Grazie Michelle ❤️ (anzi Lily Rose, ti seguo anche sui social, ma non sapendo bene l'inglese, non ti ho ancora scritto, ma avrei voluto farlo dal primo momento! E vorrei anche abbracciarti) Non sapendo bene l'inglese, l'ho letto tutto con la traduzione fornita da kindle, é assurdo che non sia stato tradotto.

É impressionante a capacidade do ser humano em se adaptar às mais duras condições de existência e suportar os piores sofrimentos. Qual a origem de toda essa força? Encontrar um sentido para a vida. Durante os anos em que Michelle ficou em cativeiro, sempre buscou sentido para a sua vida; no fim das contas, suportou as maiores atrocidades até enfim reconquistar sua liberdade e poder apreciar a vida intensamente. É uma lição de vida.

I was frightened to start reading Michelle’s book but by the time I finished going through all the pages, the “dude” had become irrelevant. The horror he inspired me was completely overshadowed by the deep admiration, hope and love I felt for this incredibly courageous woman.

It's a wonderful story. The auther's positive attitude toword life gave me courage, though I could not help deploring her fate since her childhood even through the days after release.