Elizabeth Smart: Surviving the Kidnapping That Shook the Nation

About this episode

Elizabeth Smart shares her harrowing experience of being kidnapped and her journey of survival and advocacy.

In June 2002, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart was taken from her bedroom at knifepoint and held captive for nine months, enduring abuse that would have broken most people beyond repair. Against extraordinary odds, she survived, and then she decided to step fully into the public eye; not in spite of what happened to her, but because of it. She has testified before Congress, helped author a Department of Justice handbook for kidnapping survivors, and founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation to dismantle the shame culture that compounds survivors' trauma. In this powerful episode, Elizabeth walks us through the night that changed everything, how she held onto hope during nine months of captivity, what justice looked and felt like after nearly eight years of waiting, and why she believes that being seen is one of the most radical things a survivor can do.

People in this episode

Guest: Elizabeth Smart

Topics covered

• survival
• kidnapping
• trauma
• advocacy
• hope
• justice

Keywords

• Elizabeth Smart
• kidnapping
• survivor
• trauma
• advocacy
• hope
• justice
• Elizabeth Smart Foundation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Elizabeth Smart Foundation, Department of Justice

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