Jaycee Dugard Writing Memoir About Her 18 Years in Captivity, Says Publisher

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Jaycee Dugard's alleged captors are still awaiting trial on charges of kidnapping, rape and imprisonment, but Jaycee isn't waiting for justice to share her harrowing and ultimately inspiring story of nearly two decades of captivity.

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Simon & Schuster announced Monday that Dugard will write the book herself and that she will tell the whole story from the day in 1991 when she was snatched off the street by Philip Garrido to the present day as she tries to heal and raise the two daughters she had with Garrido during captivity.

Simon & Schuster publisher and executive vice president Jonathan Karp said he was blown away by what he had read so far.

"When I read the pages, I was moved and inspired by the raw power of Jaycee Dugard's voice, her strength and her resilience," Karp said.

Dugard was rescued in August 2009 after she was found living in a backyard jumble of tents and sheds behind the house belonging to Garrido and his wife, Nancy. She has spent the last year living with her two daughters and her mother in Northern California. According to a family spokesperson, she has also been spending time writing in a journal. "She has a talent for [writing] and she wants to pursue it," the spokesperson said, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

Dugard has become a symbol of hope for families of missing children across the county and has said she wants to start a foundation for victimized children, the paper reported. The state of California recently agreed to pay Dugard $20 million in damages for failing to properly monitor Garrido, a registered sex offender.

One report by the parole officers who regularly visited the house said that an officer actually spoke to Dugard but failed to follow up.

Garrido faces 29 counts of kidnapping, rape and false imprisonment in the disappearance of Dugard. On Friday a judge in California temporarily suspended criminal proceedings against Garrido citing worries about his mental state. The judge did not halt proceedings against Garrido's wife, Nancy, who faces similar counts and is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Oct. 7.

Complete Coverage of Jaycee Lee Dugard Case on Crimesider

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