---
product_id: 6982595
title: "My Story"
price: "€ 29.90"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.it/products/6982595-my-story
store_origin: IT
region: Italy
---

# My Story

**Price:** € 29.90
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- **What is this?** My Story
- **How much does it cost?** € 29.90 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.it](https://www.desertcart.it/products/6982595-my-story)

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## Description

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.

Review: Wow. Moving in so many ways and well-written! - I devoured this book once I started it and am left with a feeling of awe. I have a background in mental health and social work and know many stories, as well as having read several. I think this is my all-time favorite because of the writing, story-telling, and I think also the woman! Elizabeth is truly inspiring. She has one of those souls, like Nelson Mandela. I love that the book tells her story, but it doesn't go into salacious details. Come on, we all know or can guess at the atrocities she experienced and no one truly needs to know those details. In fact, I think knowing them might even open the door for judgement and comparison to a victim's experience and of how one would think they would behave if in that position... overall it's unnecessary and re-traumatizing. This story and Elizabeth's recount of it is so powerful that none of the drama and additional descriptions are required to be fully engrossed. Reading this, my heart broke for her and with her, at the same time celebrating her gratitude and small victories. Being an avid horse-woman, it was a surprise and joy to learn of her equine connection and the healing it brought her. As a mom, I wanted to protect her, as a sister fight with her, and as a professional help her mentally and emotionally... but somehow she doesn't need that from us. What she needs is for us to hear what she is truly saying, to empathize and recognize the plight of child victims, to talk about the important aspects, and to be aware and proactive in protecting the world around us and around our kids. She needs us to not dwell on the past and what has been, rather use the knowledge that can be gained from it and make changes in the future. I finished this book last night and just bought one for my mom to read. I also asked my husband to read it. I am a Christian woman who has been ostracized and harassed by others, many of the Mormon religion, so I was interested in Elizabeth's experience and how her faith played a role. Incredible. One of the things I took away from this book is not anything about religion, rather her personal relationship with her Heavenly Father. God is good and faithful and true and he loves his children, regardless of the way they grew up or the religion they ascribe to. Faith in the Heavenly Father doesn't need a label. I have been through terrible things that I know I only survived because of my faith, which has never waivered. I think everyone should read this book. There are so many messages and lessons to be learned from it. Most of all, how we live each day is a choice. We can choose joy and choose to be happy. It doesn't mean we won't also experience sadness, horror, and other negative things, but we can always choose to recognize and be grateful for the positives. I truly believe that Elizabeth is a sister in Christ and I love this woman. She has a message and a testimony and her words have power. She needs to be heard, especially in this day and age.
Review: My Story by Elizabeth Smart with Chris Stewart book review - My Story is a book written by Elizabeth Smart that chronicles in Elizabeth's own words the story of how she was brutally kidnapped at knifepoint from her home by a man named Brian David Mitchell. Mitchell brazenly broke into Elizabeth's family home and then without any fear really it seems he went right into Elizabeth's bedroom (which she shared with her little sister) and woke Elizabeth up at knife point and told her if she made a sound or tried to get away from him he would murder her family with his knife. Elizabeth (who was only fourteen at the time) went with him (this really got to me because her parents were only a room or so away and this evil man had the gall to walk right past their room with their daughter). Mitchell made her hike up a mountain and to his 'camp' where Elizabeth would meet Wanda Barzee Mitchell's wife who would be an accomplice in keeping Elizabeth in captivity for the next nine months. Mitchell and Barzee made the young Elizabeth's life a living hell. This man would rape Elizabeth habitually with his wife standing by and doing absolutely nothing to help the young girl (at times in the story Elizabeth even described Barzee as seeming to be jealous of Elizabeth because of all the attention she was receiving from Mitchell; who habitually ignored his wife for the pleasure of torturing Elizabeth as well as playing manipulative mind games on the young girl.) Like telling her after a few months that her family didn't want her back and that no one was looking for her and that if she did try to escape he would kill her and her entire family. On top of this Mitchell claimed that he was a Davidic prophet and that his wife and Elizabeth needed to obey him in all things because his words were god's words. This crushed Elizabeth even more because she grew up in a mormon household and her family had certain beliefs that she followed whole-heartedly because of her faith and the way her family chose to live. Mitchell even took that from her by raping her (she had planned to wait until marriage to have sex) and by forcing her numerous times to drink alcoholic beverages until she would literally wake up covered in her own vomit (this was especially hard for Elizabeth because mormons see their body as holy temples and they want to keep them pure and clean so they do not drink alcohol) by making her drink and in many other small ways of manipulation Mitchell was breaking down Elizabeth's spirit and he was trying to destroy her faith in God (which he did not do). What he did succeed in doing was making the young girl completely terrified of him and his intentions for her family if she tried to escape. So even though a few times they were questioned by authority figures and curious citizens about who they were and who was the young girl with them Elizabeth would stay quiet and Mitchell would do all the talking. That did not work the last time however; after nine months of hell and Elizabeth being first confined in the mountains in Utah, then she was dragged to California when Mitchell was getting scared of all the attention her case still held in Elizabeth's home state of Utah. They stayed in California awhile making camp in the desert and starving at times because Mitchell would leave the two women and go into town to steal food, alcohol, and sometimes porn that he would force Elizabeth to look at; and after would rape her and do horrible things to the young girl. Finally Mitchell and his wife tired of the heat and the general climate where their camp was located in California so they (with a little push from Elizabeth who wanted to go back home so she might get recognized) decided to go back to Utah and cooler weather. (Elizabeth tricked Mitchell in a way making him believe she wanted to go back with him because she 'truly' believed he was a prophet and could do god's work better in Utah; Mitchell in my opinion seemed to want to go back because in Utah it would be easier to find young mormon girls who he could kidnap like he'd done with Elizabeth and make them his 'wives; he had tried to kidnap two young girls after he kidnapped Elizabeth but had never been successful). Elizabeth pretty quickly was recognized by authorities as soon as Mitchell, his wife, and Elizabeth were back in Utah; (They were first questioned in other states because Mitchell had forced his wife and Elizabeth to wear dirty robes and veils over their faces). They didn't have these on when Elizabeth was rescued in Utah by the police; and the police being able to actually see Elizabeth I think probably helped ensure that someone was likely to recognize who she was (even in the hobo rags that Mitchell forced her to wear). After the police got her safely away from Mitchell and his wife Elizabeth was reunited with her parents and then her brothers and sister; after nine months of literally living in hell with a crazed psycho who thought he was a prophet (he was really just a dirty old pedophile who wanted to rape young girls) and his wife Elizabeth was finally safe and back with her family. Its been over ten years since the kidnapping took place and Elizabeth was successfully rescued; she graduated high school and college, went on a mission for her church to France, and eventually met her husband and married him in a mormon wedding ceremony in Hawaii. She also has started a foundation for children who are abused and she does a lot of charity work benefitting abducted and sexually abused children. She seems like even though she had this terrible experience in childhood she has moved on and has a strong faith, a happy family, and a happy and fulfilling life. This book was very moving and although I cannot say I enjoyed it for obvious reasons I do think that Elizabeth did a very good job writing it and sharing her story with the world. As a reader I could not put it down; I just wanted to hug this young girl and tell her that she would get rescued and that everything would be alright. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who has ever been curious about the real Elizabeth smart story and everything she went through. Or just people who enjoy incredible stories of faith and perseverance. It is not a story you will soon forget.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #42,645 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #183 in True Crime (Books) #230 in Women's Biographies #589 in Memoirs (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 6,988 Reviews |

## Images

![My Story - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81MCKrZ0qoL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wow. Moving in so many ways and well-written!
*by T***A on August 7, 2024*

I devoured this book once I started it and am left with a feeling of awe. I have a background in mental health and social work and know many stories, as well as having read several. I think this is my all-time favorite because of the writing, story-telling, and I think also the woman! Elizabeth is truly inspiring. She has one of those souls, like Nelson Mandela. I love that the book tells her story, but it doesn't go into salacious details. Come on, we all know or can guess at the atrocities she experienced and no one truly needs to know those details. In fact, I think knowing them might even open the door for judgement and comparison to a victim's experience and of how one would think they would behave if in that position... overall it's unnecessary and re-traumatizing. This story and Elizabeth's recount of it is so powerful that none of the drama and additional descriptions are required to be fully engrossed. Reading this, my heart broke for her and with her, at the same time celebrating her gratitude and small victories. Being an avid horse-woman, it was a surprise and joy to learn of her equine connection and the healing it brought her. As a mom, I wanted to protect her, as a sister fight with her, and as a professional help her mentally and emotionally... but somehow she doesn't need that from us. What she needs is for us to hear what she is truly saying, to empathize and recognize the plight of child victims, to talk about the important aspects, and to be aware and proactive in protecting the world around us and around our kids. She needs us to not dwell on the past and what has been, rather use the knowledge that can be gained from it and make changes in the future. I finished this book last night and just bought one for my mom to read. I also asked my husband to read it. I am a Christian woman who has been ostracized and harassed by others, many of the Mormon religion, so I was interested in Elizabeth's experience and how her faith played a role. Incredible. One of the things I took away from this book is not anything about religion, rather her personal relationship with her Heavenly Father. God is good and faithful and true and he loves his children, regardless of the way they grew up or the religion they ascribe to. Faith in the Heavenly Father doesn't need a label. I have been through terrible things that I know I only survived because of my faith, which has never waivered. I think everyone should read this book. There are so many messages and lessons to be learned from it. Most of all, how we live each day is a choice. We can choose joy and choose to be happy. It doesn't mean we won't also experience sadness, horror, and other negative things, but we can always choose to recognize and be grateful for the positives. I truly believe that Elizabeth is a sister in Christ and I love this woman. She has a message and a testimony and her words have power. She needs to be heard, especially in this day and age.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My Story by Elizabeth Smart with Chris Stewart book review
*by B***R on March 18, 2017*

My Story is a book written by Elizabeth Smart that chronicles in Elizabeth's own words the story of how she was brutally kidnapped at knifepoint from her home by a man named Brian David Mitchell. Mitchell brazenly broke into Elizabeth's family home and then without any fear really it seems he went right into Elizabeth's bedroom (which she shared with her little sister) and woke Elizabeth up at knife point and told her if she made a sound or tried to get away from him he would murder her family with his knife. Elizabeth (who was only fourteen at the time) went with him (this really got to me because her parents were only a room or so away and this evil man had the gall to walk right past their room with their daughter). Mitchell made her hike up a mountain and to his 'camp' where Elizabeth would meet Wanda Barzee Mitchell's wife who would be an accomplice in keeping Elizabeth in captivity for the next nine months. Mitchell and Barzee made the young Elizabeth's life a living hell. This man would rape Elizabeth habitually with his wife standing by and doing absolutely nothing to help the young girl (at times in the story Elizabeth even described Barzee as seeming to be jealous of Elizabeth because of all the attention she was receiving from Mitchell; who habitually ignored his wife for the pleasure of torturing Elizabeth as well as playing manipulative mind games on the young girl.) Like telling her after a few months that her family didn't want her back and that no one was looking for her and that if she did try to escape he would kill her and her entire family. On top of this Mitchell claimed that he was a Davidic prophet and that his wife and Elizabeth needed to obey him in all things because his words were god's words. This crushed Elizabeth even more because she grew up in a mormon household and her family had certain beliefs that she followed whole-heartedly because of her faith and the way her family chose to live. Mitchell even took that from her by raping her (she had planned to wait until marriage to have sex) and by forcing her numerous times to drink alcoholic beverages until she would literally wake up covered in her own vomit (this was especially hard for Elizabeth because mormons see their body as holy temples and they want to keep them pure and clean so they do not drink alcohol) by making her drink and in many other small ways of manipulation Mitchell was breaking down Elizabeth's spirit and he was trying to destroy her faith in God (which he did not do). What he did succeed in doing was making the young girl completely terrified of him and his intentions for her family if she tried to escape. So even though a few times they were questioned by authority figures and curious citizens about who they were and who was the young girl with them Elizabeth would stay quiet and Mitchell would do all the talking. That did not work the last time however; after nine months of hell and Elizabeth being first confined in the mountains in Utah, then she was dragged to California when Mitchell was getting scared of all the attention her case still held in Elizabeth's home state of Utah. They stayed in California awhile making camp in the desert and starving at times because Mitchell would leave the two women and go into town to steal food, alcohol, and sometimes porn that he would force Elizabeth to look at; and after would rape her and do horrible things to the young girl. Finally Mitchell and his wife tired of the heat and the general climate where their camp was located in California so they (with a little push from Elizabeth who wanted to go back home so she might get recognized) decided to go back to Utah and cooler weather. (Elizabeth tricked Mitchell in a way making him believe she wanted to go back with him because she 'truly' believed he was a prophet and could do god's work better in Utah; Mitchell in my opinion seemed to want to go back because in Utah it would be easier to find young mormon girls who he could kidnap like he'd done with Elizabeth and make them his 'wives; he had tried to kidnap two young girls after he kidnapped Elizabeth but had never been successful). Elizabeth pretty quickly was recognized by authorities as soon as Mitchell, his wife, and Elizabeth were back in Utah; (They were first questioned in other states because Mitchell had forced his wife and Elizabeth to wear dirty robes and veils over their faces). They didn't have these on when Elizabeth was rescued in Utah by the police; and the police being able to actually see Elizabeth I think probably helped ensure that someone was likely to recognize who she was (even in the hobo rags that Mitchell forced her to wear). After the police got her safely away from Mitchell and his wife Elizabeth was reunited with her parents and then her brothers and sister; after nine months of literally living in hell with a crazed psycho who thought he was a prophet (he was really just a dirty old pedophile who wanted to rape young girls) and his wife Elizabeth was finally safe and back with her family. Its been over ten years since the kidnapping took place and Elizabeth was successfully rescued; she graduated high school and college, went on a mission for her church to France, and eventually met her husband and married him in a mormon wedding ceremony in Hawaii. She also has started a foundation for children who are abused and she does a lot of charity work benefitting abducted and sexually abused children. She seems like even though she had this terrible experience in childhood she has moved on and has a strong faith, a happy family, and a happy and fulfilling life. This book was very moving and although I cannot say I enjoyed it for obvious reasons I do think that Elizabeth did a very good job writing it and sharing her story with the world. As a reader I could not put it down; I just wanted to hug this young girl and tell her that she would get rescued and that everything would be alright. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who has ever been curious about the real Elizabeth smart story and everything she went through. Or just people who enjoy incredible stories of faith and perseverance. It is not a story you will soon forget.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ An amazing tale of strength and survival
*by V***Y on October 10, 2013*

I was vaguely familiar with Elizabeth's story, having seen it on the news, like everyone else back in 2002-2003. I recently came across an article that mentioned she was just releasing her story in book form, and being a fan of stories about strength and survival, I was eager to check it out. I finished the book in just a few days. Elizabeth's story is riveting, and she tells it very well. It's also very tastefully done, there are no graphic depictions of her abuse, which I thought was very prudent; nobody needs to "ooh" and "aah" at the sexual horrors this poor girl endured. Even so, Elizabeth is very good at describing her struggles, her thoughts, and her fears. She is good at drawing you into her head, and helping us understand why she didn't try to run, and why she became so compliant and submissive (I won't give spoilers, read the book!). It's easy to want to scream at her from the other side "Run! Fight back! Do something!" but unless you're a terrified 14 year old girl, you really cannot understand what she was going through. Some of the writing is teenager-ish, but that's not surprising, considering Elizabeth is still very young (25 yrs old) and was writing this from her 14 year old memories. And I appreciated it being that way, I wanted to hear the story from her point of view, not as written by some outside professional who would reduce it to dry psychoanalysis. Elizabeth, I'll never meet you in person, and you'll never read this review, but you are such an inspiration to me. Your strength is amazing. Your lack of self-pity, and your willpower to remain independent of your captors, and to never fall under their power (psychologically) is nothing short of inspirational. The beautiful love you have for your family is something I wish I had. Your appreciation for life, family, friends, and dreams, is something I would wish on every young person in the world. I'm so glad that you've taken the high road and followed your mother's advice, and reclaimed your life without bitterness or baggage or allowing these two people to remain in your thoughts. Great story, amazing young woman!

## Frequently Bought Together

- My Story
- A Stolen Life: A Memoir
- Where There's Hope: Healing, Moving Forward, and Never Giving Up

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*Last updated: 2026-07-27*