40 pages • 1 hour read
Jaycee DugardA Stolen Life: A Memoir
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2011A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Index of Terms
Equine-Assisted Therapy
Equine-assisted therapy is a healing modality using the participation of animals to help re-establish bonds of trust that have often been damaged in individuals recovering from abuse. During Jaycee’s early days in therapy, she learns more constructive coping mechanisms by performing interaction exercises with the animals on her psychiatrist’s horse ranch.
Gaslighting
Although Jaycee doesn’t use this term in her book, gaslighting is commonly mentioned by psychiatrists as a tactic that narcissists and sociopaths use to subdue other people. The abuser will discredit the validity of the target’s perception of reality, thus causing them to question their own judgment and sanity. Jaycee says that Phillip always found a way to prove that she was wrong and that he was right. Her principal reaction to his behavior is profound confusion. This is the response that gaslighting is meant to provoke.
JAYC Foundation
Just Ask Yourself to Care (JAYC) is a foundation created by Jaycee shortly after she regained her freedom. The stated goal of the organization is to help survivors of abuse to overcome psychological trauma by offering treatment programs that allow an individual to heal from within. Equine and animal therapy are featured, along with other healing modalities that are custom-tailored to help affected individuals and families.
Learned Helplessness
The concept of learned helplessness is used by psychiatrists to describe a behavior often exhibited by survivors of abuse. While Jaycee doesn’t use this term herself, she frequently describes the emotional state of those who experience the mindset. A narcissist or sociopath will generally present themselves as all-powerful in relation to those they target. They try to convince those under their control that they have no capacity to resist or escape. Philip repeatedly tells Jaycee that the world is a frightening place filled with evil people and that she couldn’t survive without his protection. Over time, she internalizes the conviction that she couldn’t and shouldn’t try to escape. This explains why Jaycee felt that she needed the assistance of others to free her.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a non-profit organization that seeks to aid in the recovery of the abducted and to help provide a safe and stable environment for those attempting to re-establish a normal life. This organization was instrumental in helping Jaycee and her daughters make their transition back into society.
Stockholm Syndrome
Stockholm Syndrome occurs when a person subjected to abuse comes to identify with their abuser and forms a connection with them. The name derives from a bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden, during which the hostages came to the defense of their captors. This term has been used frequently in the press to describe Jaycee’s relationship with Phillip. However, she denies that she ever felt any positive emotion toward her abductor. She explains that she cooperated only as a means to ensure her own survival and that of her daughters.
