The harrowing true story of abduction and survival from the courageous
young woman who lived it--now the subject of a Lifetime original movie,
I Am Elizabeth Smart.
In this memoir, 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. Elizabeth 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.
With My Story, Elizabeth 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 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. She and her husband,
Matthew Gilmour, now have two children.
