Jaycee Dugard Wrote “A Stollen Life:”-Casey Anthony-Wasted Life-2 Completely Different Moms: Why?
Posted: Thursday, July 14, 2011
by Fran Larson
http://www.franniesquotes.com/
July 13, 2011: Jaycee Dugard, who was kidnapped at the age of 11 and was virtually in prison, in a backyard shack has now released her story, “A Stolen Life.” The book went straight to number one, according to Amazon. For a complete story about the kidnapping, please go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_Jaycee_Lee_Dugard.
According to Ms Dugard’s book, she survived by creating her own world. She stated that ““physical abuse was all I knew,” and “with time I grew used to all kinds of things."
Jaycee Dugard was (for all practical purposes) in prison for 18 years. In contrast, we have Casey Anthony who has been in prison (solitary confinement for 3 years). Both of these young women are mothers and both reacted to motherhood in completely different ways. (For Casey Anthony’s complete story, please go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Anthony_trial.
In a television interview with Diane Sawyer last Sunday, Jaycee Dugard became tearful as she described the birth of her first daughter (the rapist was the father).
"She came out and then I saw her. She was beautiful. I felt like I wasn't alone anymore. I had somebody who was mine," she told Sawyer."
Ms. Dugard gave birth to a second daughter, three years later.
For me, the amazing part of the story is the fact that Jaycee loved and taught her children everything she knew, even though her education was only to the age of 11. She loved her children, even though they were the result of a rape and the father was evil. She embraced the “good” and apparently taught them that they are part of her and loved them unconditionally and fully.
In contrast, Casey Anthony did not report her child missing for 31 days and when she knew her daughter, Caylee was dead, she went out partying night after night and seemed to show no emotion.
What is mother-love? Does it always exist, just because you are a biological mother? The following quote is one person's view of mother love. I think it applies to this article.
Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. ~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul
I couldn’t help but compare her with Casey Anthony. Whether you believe Ms Anthony was guilty or innocent in killing her 2 year old daughter, I think we all know the fact that she did not report her missing for 31 days.
I ask myself, “How could these two mothers be so different?”” What would cause them to react to motherhood in two completely different ways? Casey Anthony came from a middle-class home and seemed to have parents that loved her, while Jaycee Dugard was snatched from her loving home to live in an environment of hate, evil and despair.
Jaycee Dugard’s days were filled with rape again and again, as she lived in a squalid, animal-like environment. Yet she loved her daughters and would not do anything to put them in danger.
The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh
Two mothers, two tragedies, but two different ideas of what motherhood really is….
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Well, Fran, here I go again - The system crashed and I'm restarting my note. I marvel at how you were able to draw comparisons between the two women but one thing is for certain to me, they are not in the same league! Ms Dugard is an amazing human being, able to tolerate and overcome her tortuous existence and still be a dedicated, wonderful mother. She has the true spirit of what it means to be mother and human. On the other hand, the pitiful, selfish and self-serving Casey Anthony is a slug. You wrote this interesting piece in the true clarity of Fran which I thoroughly enjoy.
Well, Fran, here I go again - The system crashed and I'm restarting my note. I marvel at how you were able to draw comparisons between the two women but one thing is for certain to me, they are not in the same league! Ms Dugard is an amazing human being, able to tolerate and overcome her tortuous existence and still be a dedicated, wonderful mother. She has the true spirit of what it means to be mother and human. On the other hand, the pitiful, selfish and self-serving Casey Anthony is a slug. You wrote this interesting piece in the true clarity of Fran which I thoroughly enjoy.
Fran, lately, I have read through a lot of bad news around the country. I also read about mothers killing their own kids just like that. How horrible and sad. Poor kids are so fragile in their security. Some people are getting mad but how come the Judge did not seem to rule out the murderer ?
Fran, Ms Dugard is an example of a true mother, who thinks of her children before any other thing including herself. Casey on the other hand is an example of women who shouldn't have children until they understand what motherhood is all about.
I hadn't heard about the Dugard case, but just read it at the link you provided. How horrible. I was aware of the other case you mentioned. Who knows why people do what they do. I don't believe we will ever be able to understand their actions, or if they will understand them either. Very sad.
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