CLEVELAND, Ohio — Through more than 300 pages, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus recall the decade they spent in captivity after they were kidnapped by Ariel Castro.
Their story, “Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland,” is in stores Monday and provides a glimpse into the physical and psychological abuse the women overcame, alongside Michelle Knight.
The memoir, written in first-person, relies heavily on memories from the women, as well as a diary Berry kept during the years she was trapped inside Castro’s Seymour Avenue home. The book is co-authored by Washington Post reporters Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan, who provide insight into the Castro investigation.
In a note to readers, Berry and DeJesus say that they’ve “written about terrible things we never wanted to think about again,” but they want people to know the truth.
Berry writes that she saw Castro’s van as she walked home from her job at Burger King in April 2003. Castro smiled and asked if she needed a ride. Berry recognized him and knew his daughter, so she agreed to go with him to see her. Once at his house, Castro took Berry’s cell phone and then led her inside, where he trapped her.
“He has suddenly turned so scary – his voice, his eyes, his manner – and I do what he says. I stand there, crying.”
Gina writes Castro abducted her as she walked home from school in April 2004. He claimed he needed help finding his daughter, who was a friend of Gina’s, but first had to stop home for cash.
She recalls thinking:
“This is a little weird, but I tell myself to chill. My parents know him. He`s Arlene`s dad. if he needs to get money at home, what`s the big deal?”
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Article Courtesy of WJW Fox 8 News
Picture Courtesy of Getty Images and ABC News
