At the age of 9, Katie Beers was kidnapped by a family friend, John Esposito. John locked her in an underground box for 17 days. Eventually, he confessed to his attorney and later the police. During the hunt for Katie, it became clear to investigators that her family life was full of abuse and neglect. After being freed, Katie was placed in foster care, where she finally experienced the love of family.

While Katie's story was extremely compelling and heartbreaking, the book was not well written. The book was all over the place, jumping from one even to another. I really did not need or want the reporter's point of view, it took away from the power of Katie's story. 3 out of 5 stars. ( )

This was definitively an interesting read. I thought the way the story was wove between Carolyn Gusoff and Katie Beers was really well done. For reasons that I don't quite understand I've read quite a lot of these types of books of late. Many of them have been poorly ghost written, or written by the non-writer victims. This has detracted from the story at hand. Not the case in this book.

Katie is an amazingly brave person. The abuse she endured is heartbreaking. I couldn't believe that adults could so horribly abuse an innocent girl. Her strength in over coming her abuse and having a functional, loving live is truly astounding. Its very inspirational to know that everything can be overcome. ( )

I saw Katie Beers on a talk show and wanted to know more about her horrible ordeal. It is shocking that being held captive for seventeen days in a box, being molested and poorly fed could be the best thing that happened to her. She had lived a life filled with sexual, physical and emotional abuse and neglect all her life. The reason it ultimately was a good thing is that Katie was rescued from this sad life by being adopted into a loving family. Days shy of her tenth birthday when she was abducted in 1992, she had already been robbed of her childhood by the abuse and neglect. Finally, after twenty years of recovery, it was time for Katie Beers to share her story. It has a happy ending, offering hope to other victims. The book effectively delivers the message from the viewpoint of the victim and of a reporter who covered the incident. ( )

I saw Katie Beers on a talk show and wanted to know more about her horrible ordeal. It is shocking that being held captive for seventeen days in a box, being molested and poorly fed could be the best thing that happened to her. She had lived a life filled with sexual, physical and emotional abuse and neglect all her life. The reason it ultimately was a good thing is that Katie was rescued from this sad life by being adopted into a loving family. Days shy of her tenth birthday when she was abducted in 1992, she had already been robbed of her childhood by the abuse and neglect. Finally, after twenty years of recovery, it was time for Katie Beers to share her story. It has a happy ending, offering hope to other victims. The book effectively delivers the message from the viewpoint of the victim and of a reporter who covered the incident. ( )

Katie Beers was born into an unfortunate life in a broken home to a mother without the life skills to raise her properly, protect her from harm, or even provide her with basic needs.

Soon Katie finds herself living with her "Godparents" Linda and Sal Inghilleri. The sexual abuse by Sal Inghilleri began when Katie was only two years old and escalated as she got older. Linda, who was disabled and in a wheelchair, was also abusive, making Katie do all the chores and errands at a very very young age.

Then, on December 28, 1992, two days before her tenth birthday, Katie is kidnapped by a family friend, John Esposito, and hidden away in a coffin sized bunker underneath Esposito's garage. He kept her there for 16 days, raping and molesting her and providing her with only the basic needs to survive.

Finally, Esposito turns himself in to authorities and Katie is found. She was adopted by her foster family and went on to college, married, and has children. Katie has adapted well to life after her ordeal but her scars are far from healed. ( )