Buried Memories: A Vulnerable Girl and Her Story of Survival

Thank you, Katie Beers for sharing your utterly astounding and uplifting story, and to Carolyn for helping you tell it.Though this is a story filled with the darkness of child abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse, it will leave your spirits soaring on that thing called hope.I am so glad to have met Katie Beers and the members of her team. These slayers of dragons. These people of faith and belief in standing up and doing the right thing thing, and in the protection of children.You will be hard-pressed to find another heroine like Katie, for that is what this courageous young woman is. A heroine with a largeness of heart even for those who have so terribly wronged her.Simply and carefully written from alternating points of view of the two women, the violence is never sensationalized as Katie's story unfolds.Do not miss this book.I surrendered two days to it exclusively and I will never forget this story of the people in it.

This is such a thorough telling of what happened in the case of Katie Beers...it was difficult to read at times, but just goes to show the horrific nature of what happened to get, but the resilience of her constitution. The events were delivered well and respectfully, with her own words and inside perspective, as well as outside perspectives and actual letters of those involved. I could not put it down! I'm impressed every time I had a question, it was answered....and I am glad they added pictures to further satiate curiosity and bring her story to life. It's important for everyone to understand how community needs to rally together and protect those who cannot protect themselves. Katie is an incredible person and I'm glad she has the courage to bring her story to light.

I'm not going to go into many details on the book itself. Chances are if you're here then you remember the national headlines and like the rest of us sat glued to your television set each day as the horrific events about Katie's abduction played out on an national stage. As each day progressed the world learned more and more about Katie and her awful surroundings. More light was shed on the amount of abuse, neglect and pain this poor girl must have suffered through in her short life. At age 9 she was kidnapped by a family friend who made it look like she was taken at knife point by a stranger and locked into a small coffin sized box underneath his garage. For the next 17 days she would stay there as his prisoner facing unimaginable terror but that is only part of the story. In Buried Memories: Katie Beer's Story we are taken back to hear earliest years and shown a life of neglect, struggle and very little love. We are given accounts of her horrible ordeal before and after the kidnapping and then are shown her recovery and those who came to her rescue. The system which initially failed this little girl did a commendable job of trying to atone for it's past mistakes. She was put into a loving foster home with a new family. She had a great team, an amazing psychologist and all of the authorities involved did an outstanding job of not only putting away the two vile monsters in her life but also helped to keep the media at bay so this little girl could move on with her life and go to school without being hounded each and every day. This is one of the hardest things I've ever read but also I feel one of the most important things I've ever read. To say Katie Beer is courageous is a gross understatement. I doubt many children could have survived what she did but not only did she survive but she moved forward and prospered. She was a tough little girl who was extremely street smart and wise beyond her years. I think it's awesome that the author and reporter Carolyn Gusoff was one of those who respected this girls wishes and stayed away from her instead of trying to get a scoop after everything was said and done. She was the perfect choice to help write this book. She managed to tell Katie's story with a great deal of compassion and respect. I think every parent owes it to themselves to read this harrowing tale. Unfortunately most of the time that children are sexually abused it is not by a stranger but by a relative or family friend: someone the child knows and loves which is just a betrayal beyond words. I would urge parents everywhere to read this. To talk to their children and make sure that their children KNOW that they can come to them with anything and that they won't get into trouble. It's important that children understand the dangers of not only strangers but also family and friends, the dangers of anyone who would try to abuse them. I would definitely read this before allowing your teenagers to read it though(depending on their age). This is not an easy subject and while it handles the more sensitive matters with the utmost respect it still talks about them so you may want to read it first. Be warned that this is not an easy book to read although I think it's a very important one to read. I can only imagine Katie's pain. This book hurt me just reading it and she had to live through this. I'm glad that there is a happy ending for Katie. I know that she'll never completely be normal or get over what was done to her in her past but it warms my heart to know that she was able to make it through all of that and still find love. Her new family deserve a lot of credit along with Katie's psychologist and everyone around her that helped her through her childhood and teenage years. Those in the law enforcement, especially those who had children made this case personal and looked after her like she was their own daughter. Katie's husband who sounds like a very special man. Most of all Katie deserves a lot of credit. Not only is she a good person but she is probably one of the strongest people I've ever had the fortune to read about. I hope that the rest of her life will be filled with happiness and kindness and that she will continue to heal. If she ever reads this I'd just like to take the opportunity to thank her for sharing her story. I do believe it will help others who have been through similar things to see that you can heal and lead a normal life and find happiness. Thank you Katie: I hope you are doing well. I pray that in finally sharing her story it has also helped her to heal. I cannot recommend this book enough!

I was very interested in this book, since I grew up in Bay Shore, L.I., where this kidnapping took place. It was very strange to know that I passed these very streets in the town so often, never knowing that so many sick and depraved people lived 5 minutes away from me, both in Bay Shore, and West Islip, the town that the Beers family was from. Oddly enough, I was moving to New Jersey for a job, on the day this kidnapping took place, so I never recalled that it happened. Carolyn Gusoff did a wonderful job in describing Katie, from her nightmare childhood, filled with unimaginable neglect and abuse, to becoming a young woman, with a family of her own, emphasizing her unbelievable strength and determination. Katie also tells us, in her own voice, what she remembers of her childhood, often recalling details that are so horrific that it is difficult to keep reading without sobbing. It also made me wonder why no one ever tried to walk this little girl back home, to see what kind of parents are sending a very young girl of 5 or 6 to walk across a busy street to get cigarettes, because many local shopkeepers had seen her in West Islip, and witnessed her looking filthy and without a coat or jacket in the dead of winter. However, many people did rally around Katie, after she was rescued from this dungeon of John Esposito's, and she received enormous support from the Suffolk County D.A.'s office, and later came to be adopted by a wonderful couple in Eastern Long Island. The love and support she received from them, and their children,a wonderful and caring local Therapist and the school system in Springs,NY, is what finally showed Katie what a normal childhood looks like. She says she wrote the book in hopes that it would help others who have suffered as she has. Hopefully, if we all took a closer look at what's going on with these children, and had the courage to get involved, and make a phone call to CPS, we would think that it could prevent even one child from having to experience what Katie has. Unfortunately as we have seen time and time, again, the abusive caretakers threaten the children if they say anything to the case workers, and this is where the system failed Katie, as she had been threatened by Sal Inghilleri if she said anything. Maybe persistence is the key, as it is better to try, than turn a blind eye. A child does not ask to be born, to be treated like garbage, or be used as sex toy. It is our responsilbility to try to break the cycle.

The book itself held my interest. The dual format of sections by Beers and the journalist Gusoff is good as it shows both Beers's experiences in captivity and at the same time what was going on in the police investigation and media reports. Unfortunately it was spoiled for me by the number of typos and punctuation errors which made it feel very much like a rushed, self-published text. This might not bother some people but it does me. Inadequate editing and proofing is what is giving self-publishing a bad name. I don't actually know if this work is self-published but it certainly lacked the polish of a professional publication. Still a good example of the genre though.

Good delivery time and good product

I first saw Ms Beers on the Dr Phil show. And, have been waiting for her book to come to Canada. I am not sorry that either one of her abusers are dead. They both deserved real jailhouse justice. Like Katie, I only feel remorse for their families. I am really pleased that Katie 'turned out' fantastic. She deserves a medal for her courage. Thank God for her adoptive parents. I would recommend this book, but be warned, it is really sad in parts. I also hope I did not give too much away.

Th content is straight from Katie and rarely the narrator puts it in her words.. and so it feels more original of sorts.. while one gets to know all the shameful acts a man could do, it also makes us believe in a reason to live no matter what. Katie beers did motivate me too with her courage, compassion and more so with her outlook of the world after the tragedy.. cheers to katie n Carolyn🥂

Reading this book makes me wonder how a system to protect children could be so incompetant, and the worst thing is it is still happening today. I would not have heard about this book if it wasn't for watching CNN that brought this to my attention. It is a sad book to read and at times I would shake my head in disbelief. I wish Katie and her family well and even though I met her through her book I am glad I got to hear her story. She is a remarkable women.