3,096 Days by Natascha Kampusch

Most people remember the shocking kidnap of Natascha Kampusch and her eventual escape of her attacker and return into the world in 1996. Kampusch, now a television presenter, has written a book about her experiences - the terror and fear she experienced as a captive of Wolfgang Prikopil who jumped under a train soon after her escape.

It is clear from the writing in this book that Kampusch received help from therapists to understand her experiences, both as an unhappy small child prior to her kidnapping, and as a victim and survivor of the man who subjected her to eight years in captivity. Kampusch is able to write clearly about her experiences and she reflects on them in a useful way throughout the book that I think is extremely admirable. Not many people would be able to go through what she did and come out the other side, but Kampusch has come to understand and reflect on her experiences and her ultimate survival to the benefit of herself and others. As well as this, she rejects the label of Stockholm Syndrome that was imposed on her after she escaped saying it denied her autonomy and reinforced her status as the victim. She was also able to objectively look at the media response which contributed to a form of revictimisation.

This book also highlights the police processes which took place after her capture and it is clear that from the beginning there were many mistakes made. Important leads were also not followed up in the process of the investigation and several opportunities to follow up Prikopil ultimately failed. It seems like the police expected some sort of obvious monster and the failure to find this monster they sought meant they did not take good tips seriously. Then again this was probably an unheard of case at the time and this story could contribute to police efforts in Austria in the future.

Overall this was an absolutely amazing book. Kampusch is an impressive women who is able to recount her experiences with understanding far beyond her years. I would recommend it to all.