by Tiffany Chau
Courier Staff Writer
Finding Me, by Michelle Knight, who appeared on the Dr. Phil show, is not just another book about spiritual rebirth or self discovery. Rather, it is a memoir about a woman’s courage, determination, and enduring prayers that gave her the strength to survive and to eventually overcome eleven unfathomable years of captivity.
Knight tells her readers to be aware of their surroundings, because anyone could be kidnapped at any time. In 2002, Knight was asking for directions at a family dollar store and accepted help from her friend’s father, Ariel Castro, who offered to drive her. Knight assumed that she could believe Castro, however that ounce of faith caused her to be imprisoned in Castro’s house for more than a decade. Eventually two other women, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus were also abducted until there were all discovered by the police in 2013.
Knight calls for “everyone to remember those who are lost”. She urges the reader to take immediate action to contact authorities if they notice anything that seems unusual about a situation, for example “a child who keeps missing, a woman who doesn’t seem to be able to leave her house” for even if it turns out fine, “you’ll have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you could have helped someone who was in trouble”.
The structure of the book begins with Knight’s recount of her poverty laden childhood and its effect throughout her life. The amount of detail Knight uses to describe the physical and psychological abuse that she endured is extremely graphic. Her words can only describe a fraction of her pain, but they effectively reach out to the reader. Knight is admirable in the fact that she does not trap herself in her painful past, but instead speaks with a courageous, unwavering voice throughout the book.
If you do not handle gruesome or brutal content, this book may not be for you. The content is often heartbreaking and difficult to accept, but allows the book to be even more eye opening and life-changing. Many morals and valuable life lessons can be taken reading this memoir, give this book a try if you want to know how Knight was able to make her new life worth living and to ultimately forgive Ariel Castro’s wrongdoings.