"If it wasn't for, not necessarily, the kidnapping, I would not have been brought to the life I now live," said Katie Beers, kidnapping victim.
She is now 30 years old. Two decades removed from the underground nightmare that haunted a little girl and captivated a nation.
Believe it or not, Katie Beers says the anger, the bitterness, and the resentment are gone.
"I would never say you are 100% recovered, because there are little things that can get you here and there. But definitely, writing 'Buried Memories' has helped so much in finalizing my recovery," Beers said.
The married mother of 3-year-old Logan and 17-month-old Halee has written a book about her ordeal; the kidnapping by family friend John Esposito and the sexual assaults she endured while hidden in an underground cell for 17 days in early 1993.
But she also details earlier abuse by her godmother's husband Sal Inghilleri who went to prison for molesting Beers when she was just a toddler.
"My upbringing; the abuse, emotional, physical, sexual, verbal, all prepared me for the abduction," Beers said.
Beers lives in central Pennsylvania now, far away from the horrors of 20 years ago.
How will she handle the renewed interest now that her story is back in the public spotlight?
"I think I'm prepared. I think that my community is so loving that they are going to come at me with open arms and embrace me," Beers said.
And when will she tell her children about what happened to her?
"It really would depend upon when I thought they were mature enough to handle what I'm going to throw at them. I haven't decided how. I haven't decided when," Beers said.
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