Kidnapped schoolgirl Jaycee Lee Dugard to write book about her 18-year ordeal

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:14 PM on 27th September 2010

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My ordeal: Jaycee Lee Dugard, pictured here before her kidnap in 1991, is to write a book about her nightmare

Jaycee Lee Dugard, who survived being kidnapped aged 11 and held captive for 18 years, is to write a book about her ordeal.

She will pen the currently untitled book herself and cover her life from her abduction in 1991 to the present day, publisher Simon & Schuster announced today.

News of the book, scheduled to come out next year, emerged just days after criminal proceedings against the man accused of kidnapping Jaycee were halted because of concerns about his mental state.

Phillip Garrido is facing 29 counts of kidnapping, rape and false imprisonment in the 1991 disappearance of Jaycee. His wife, Nancy, faces similar counts.

The couple are accused of holding Jaycee captive in a backyard jumble of tents and sheds for nearly two decades until they were arrested in August 2009.

Authorities said Jaycee, who is now 30, bore two daughters to Garrido while being held.
Jaycee's publisher claims her book will provide a compelling insight into her ordeal.
'When I read the pages, I was moved and inspired by the raw power of Jaycee Dugard's voice, her strength and her resilience,' Simon & Schuster publisher and executive vice president Jonathan Karp said of what she has written so far.

Halted: Phillip Garrido in the dock. The case has been suspended due to fears for his mental state

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Nancy Garrido is due back in court on October 1 for a final pretrial conference before her October 7 preliminary hearing.

At that hearing, prosecutors would present evidence that the judge would use to decide whether there is enough to put her on trial.

Another hearing for Phillip Garrido is due on October 8, where an independent expert may be appointed to evaluate Garrido.

Similar issues delayed proceedings against the couple accused of kidnapping Utah teenager Elizabeth Smart in 2002 and holding her captive for nine months.

The case was postponed for more than six years while Brian Mitchell and Wanda Barzee underwent psychiatric treatment.

Last November, Barzee pleaded guilty to kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor. Mitchell was declared competent in March and his trial has been scheduled for later this year.

Jaycee's stepfather Carl Probyn, who was the last person to see Dugard moments before she was snatched in 1991 - says he expected a similar move in this case.

He said: 'We all know he's crazy to do this in the first place. A sane person doesn't really do this.

'I kind of saw it coming because I read things about him carrying a box around with headphones in it [saying] God was talking to him and stuff. I'm not surprised by what's taken place.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1315702/Kidnapped-schoolgirl-Jaycee-Lee-Dugard-write-book-18-year-ordeal.html#ixzz17LZT33Uq