Out of the Woods: A Girl, a Killer, and a Lifelong Struggle to Find the Way Home by Gregg Olsen

 

"Miss Garner told her boss right after Shasta's life story session that what she heard was so horrendous, so heart-breaking. She said she didn't get paid enough to listen to what happened to the little girl from up north in the Panhandle. It was that bad."

    -from the true crime story

I selected this book from Amazon First Reads not really knowing what I was getting into. I do enjoy an occasional true crime story, but this one was more appalling than most. Eight-year-old Shasta Groene, along with her brother, is kidnapped by serial killer, Joseph Edward Duncan in the spring of 2005. In Idaho, Duncan, nicknamed Jet, has killed 3 Groene family members before abducting the 2 children. 

They are taken to a remote place in the Montana woods and kept for almost 7 weeks. There they were repeatedly raped, beaten, and otherwise brutalized by Jet, a psychopath if ever there was one. Dylan is eventually killed, and Shasta is rescued soon after. However, her life is not the same for many years as she struggles with letting go of the trauma and falls into self-destructive behavior---drug addiction sexual promiscuity, cutting, stealing, and more. She is sent to one rehab institution that does more harm than good. 

The book was a page-turner but not because of enjoyment; more like I just wanted to be done. I have to agree with Miss Garner quoted above that Shasta's story is just too horrifying. (Shannon Garner was a rehabilitation specialist and one of the few who tried to help Shasta.) I am rating the book a 3 partly because of the emotional intensity but also, I found the book disjointed and confusing as the setting changed unexpectedly from the time of the kidnapping to later events.

I have read 3 other books by this author and my favorite was If You Tell, another true crime story. I rated it a 5.