Finding Me

A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed

By: Michelle Knight, Michelle Burford

Narrated by: Maria Cabezas

Michelle was a young single mother when she was kidnapped by a local school bus driver named Ariel Castro. For more than a decade afterward, she endured unimaginable torture at the hand of her abductor. In 2003 Amanda Berry joined her in captivity, followed by Gina DeJesus in 2004. Their escape on May 6, 2013, made headlines around the world.

Barely out of her own tumultuous childhood, Michelle was estranged from her family and fighting for custody of her young son when she disappeared. Local police believed she had run away, so they removed her from the missing persons lists fifteen months after she vanished. Castro tormented her with these facts, reminding her that no one was looking for her, that the outside world had forgotten her. But Michelle would not be broken.

©2014 Lillian Rose Lee (P)2014 Recorded Books

I love you Michelle

What did you love best about Finding Me?

Grabbed my heart and I just want to bring Michelle home with me and help her feel safe and show her how a family that loves her would feel.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Finding Me?

When the girls were rescued, I cried.

Which character – as performed by Maria Cabezas – was your favorite?

Michelle,

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Again when they were rescued

Any additional comments?

Quite a horror story. Amazing she lived through it and came out of it capable of putting this book together.

Incredible courage. Excellent narrator.

I was not prepared for the extent of detailed graphic disclosure in this book. I can’t understand how anybody could have the courage and intestinal fortitude to survive these horrors and not be spending the rest of their lives in a mental institution.

The treatment is worse and more despicable than sex trafficking books I have read. These girls weren’t groomed, weren’t party girls, just girls who accepted a ride from a friend’s father. Michelle already had a horrible past through no fault of her own. Of the three girls, Michelle is the central characters totally deserving of our empathy.

Excellently written

How amazing that she could put into words her account of her captivity. I was unable to stop reading this book. My heart was inspired how she wouldn’t allow this animal abuser break her spirit. Bravo Michelle and God bless you.

Good story

The overall story was great. You really felt for the author and all she had gone through. I didn't like how the narrator read the story though. She made everything sound a bit childish and fragmented. Overall I would recommend though.

Strong women

This is the strongest young women I have ever heard of. She is so much more than what the press and news has made of her. She alone saved herself helped save the lives of the other girls daily. What she has been through and her forgiveness of the man that did those terrible things to her should be a lesson to us all as human beings. Good for you Michelle. I just hope to be half the woman you have become through all the trials of your life. Have sent this book to few other women to read including my own daughters. You are definitely a great role model in faith forgiveness and life as a woman. Thank you for sharing your painful story.