And Then She Was Gone

This was my first book by this author and I loved it. It was a wonderfully written book about overcoming heartache, shame and the humiliation of things totally out of your control. How can a person endure what this girl did and not be bitter and mad at the whole world. I could not put this book down. I stayed up long hours just waiting to get to the next page, the next chapter.... The ending. Best book I read in a long time.

I liked this book. The story line was very interesting and I liked the unique types of therapy that were used. However, there were a few flaws. Overall, it was a good read. The book starts off with eleven year old Lauren walking home from school. This is a new privilege that she has recently been awarded. Suddenly, she is abducted by a man dressed as a delivery man and is brought on a long hike to a compound where she is held for six years. Once she is captured, her parents and teenaged sister Sierra are elated and cannot wait for her to assimilate back into the family. However, being away for so many years, along with the brainwashing that her abductor, Kevin, subjects her to, complicates things for Lauren, and she has a hard time reattaching to the family that she was pulled away from years ago. Her parents try hard to reconnect with her and eventually the family enrolls in a horse therapy program. We find out that Lauren had given birth to a daughter a few years earlier, who she named MacKenzie (Mac for short), but the child became sick, and Kevin told her that Mac had died in the hospital. Lauren obviously experiences pain due to this loss, and her experiences with Mac give insight into life in the compound. As the story progresses, Lauren is shown becoming more and more comfortable with the world and her surroundings, and is starting to have increasingly normal relationships and feelings. Overall, this was an interesting read. However, there were a few inconsistencies. I felt that Sierra's personality was fun, but somewhat contradictory at times. It seemed natural for her to be jealous of the attention Lauren received, however at times it seemed like she wished she was the one who had gone through the experience. It was just hard to get a clear picture of how she was feeling or why she was acting the way she did, because it lacked consistency. There were a few minor mix-ups and grammatical errors, but they were easy to overlook. Lastly, I felt the ending was a bit predictable, but there were a few twists that I liked. I definitely did enjoy this book!

I like the setting and the development of the book. The letdown were the secondary chacarteres such as Paula that seems to have a great impact and contribution to the history and in the end...are is left aside. Other than that, there were some good twists around the character Mac. I would recommend the read.

Lauren O'Neil was kidnapped when she was eleven. Six years later, her parents are still searching for their daughter. But when Lauren is finally discovered in a hidden area just miles from home, everything is far from the reunion they all hoped for. When new evidence is found in the case, Lauren and her family find new hope, and discover new fears. This story is a fiction take on kidnapping stories, and contains actual information on psychology, therapy, and the process of coming to terms with one's past struggles. This novel portrays the desperate search of joy, peace, and family after disaster strikes. I highly recommend it, though it should not be read by those sensitive to depressing and harsh living conditions and treatment. This story is worn in third person omniscient, including the perspectives of many of the characters, including Lauren, her family, and her case workers and friends. This is not a story I will ever forget. I am highly likely to read it again and recommend it to others.

I liked that the author spent most of the book on the recovery and rehabilitation of Lauren, with just the right amount of flashbacks to leave the actual captivity to the reader's information. Lauren was conflicted and confused, and it was easy to understand how this came about. Her near-instant bonding with the social worker on call was that of a drowning victim grabbing for the life jacket, and I liked Sarah's character. However, the parents seemed a little one-dimensional in comparison, although the kid sister was believable in her jealousies and brattiness. That is, until she switched sides suddenly and completely--no relapses. The day I finished this book, I read Jaycee Dugard's book, and immediately understood why Lauren was the most believable character in the book. This author used Jaycee's reunification process as Lauren's own, albeit a condensed version. It only took Lauren a summer to recover, and that seems to me to be an insult to the Jaycees and Elizabeth Smarts of the world. The book was a quick and easy read, and I don't think it should have been.

I enjoyed this story and I think others will, too. What a terrible thing to happen to a family but a successful ending made the story so real. I am glad that the author explained the importance of the therapy for the entire family. It made the story so possible to have happened. A very good book!

I really enjoyed this book. It was very clean as far as language and subject matter. The kidnap story was very similar to the true kidnapping of Jacie Dugard but I didn't mind it. I loved all the characters and the ending was great. I found a new favorite author!

When the thought of freedom has dissipated how does one move on when it's within their grasp? Resolved to dilapidated living conditions without basic amenities such as clean water, A/C & heat, toilet, etc... How does one being to function in normal society once the freedom has been once again granted. Snatched, raped, beaten, held hostage, and suffering from an extreme case of PTSD how do you begin to rebuild and function within a family that you have since long forgotten. Family? My only notation of family is destructive and pure dysfunction. These people don't love or care about me and if so they would have found me just a tad over a mile away from home. Now Kevin he loves and takes care of me I can't betray him or he will hurt me. This story tells the journey of a victim and her family struggling to put back together what was snatched away within a matter a minutes on school day. Will all hope be lost or can this family find their way back to the new dynamic meant to be?

I could not put this book down, I was sad when the story ended. The story of an abducted girl was well written with just enough details of what her captive did to her without being repulsive. The strength of Lauren is what keeps you reading as one wants to see if she can rebound and find herself again. The discovery that her baby is still alive is an interesting twist to the story and so beckons you to keep on reading. This is Rosalind Noonan's best book to date.

Surprised, it was good

This was a very good book. I couldn't seem to stop reading it. It was a real page turner. I will be reading more books by Rosalind Noonan.

loved the book, a little disturbing yet interesting to read

The story was very good, I hated that it ended so soon. I really enjoyed the read, it makes me sad that people actually go through this.