Shining the light on Shasta's long journey
Thoreson
This isn’t so much a book review as it is a revelation. Greg Olsen’s book, "Out of the Woods," written with Shasta Groene, is profound. Yes, there are parts that are hard and uncomfortable to read and insight into the past two decades of Shasta’s life journey, but what I took away from the book is simply this ... awe at what resilience and strength an 8-year-old could possess and respect for the 28-year-old woman, now a mother, who tells her story, finally.
For those of us who were here when the horrific tragedy unfolded and lived here through the challenges she faced on every front, growing up in the public eye as “that girl,” the one who was kidnapped when her family was murdered, she humbles me. Her desire to be heard, to have a normal life, is not too much to ask.
The little girl I wrote about in my column (reprinted below) two decades ago is still standing, still dreaming, still doing much more than just putting one foot in front of the other. Shasta didn’t owe us her story, but I think we owe her the respect of knowing it, on her terms, in her words. We see you, we hear you Shasta ... finally.
Main Street, July 13, 2005
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