My Story

How did Elizabeth Smart survive nine months in captivity-and manage to forge a new life for herself?This is her story.

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. She 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.

"The inspirational and ultimately redemptive story of a teenage girl's descent into hell... and of the faith that fueled her determination to survive." -Kirkus Reviews

In My Story, Smart tells of the constant fear she endured every hour, her courageous determination to maintain hope, and how she convinced her captors 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.

"[The book's] power lies in the way Smart presents herself-stronger but somehow still innocent." -The New Yorker

Chris Stewart is a former U. S. Air Force pilot assigned to fly the SR-71 Blackbird and B-1 bomber. He is the author of successful and acclaimed thrillers including Shattered Bone, The Kill Box, and The Third Consequence. He lives in Farmington, Utah.

ELIZABETH ANN SMART is an American activist and president of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation. She first gained widespread attention at age fourteen when she was kidnapped from her home and rescued nine months later.