Elizabeth Smart shares how her harrowing experiences led her to become an advocate, found a non-profit, and inspire others. "I would like to think that I would have done it regardless, but if I really think about it, I mean I would have felt terrible, but would I have spoken out? Probably not. And even if I did, who would listen? So it has definitely changed my life for the better," she says.
Two women abducted from their homes and families, raped, abused, and then rescued from their captors. Two women who have experienced heartbreak and fear as they struggled to recover from their kidnapping. Two women who have heroically turned their experiences into ways they can help others.
Elizabeth Smart—who was kidnapped from her home at 14 years old and held for nine months before being rescued—and Amanda Berry—who was abducted at 16 and held for 10 years before she was able to call the police and be set free—recently came together to share their experience and the ways they were able to find hope through it all.
Both women now have careers that allow them to help others who experience kidnapping or abuse. Elizabeth Smart works as a correspondent for Crime Watch Daily and focuses on helping victims recover from abuse, and Amanda Berry recently joined Fox 8 News to host a daily report that details the cases of missing persons in the hope that the information may help lead to their discovery.
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During their meeting, both women shared how it was their families who helped them through their ordeals.
"For me my family was everything. If it wasn't for them keeping the hope, I don't know if I could have kept the hope," Berry says about seeing her family still searching for her on the news. "I would see them, and they were still fighting," Berry says on Fox 8 News.
Berry credits her resilience and fighting spirit to her mother. "I thank God for her every day," she says on Crime Watch. She also credits her 6-year-old daughter, who was born during her captivity, for helping her find healing and hope.
"I really feel like she's an angel from my mom, so she has blessed me in a way that I probably can't even explain, like even as I sit here," Berry says.
Elizabeth Smart, who is expecting her second child, shares how her own family brought light into her life during her captivity.
"My captors could take everything away from me. They could take my life away from me—and in a sense they did for nine months. They could change the way I look, my name. But the one thing they could never take away from me was the fact that my parents would always love me," she says on Fox 8 News. "For me, that was enough to survive for."
Smart continues, sharing how her experience helped her become an advocate, found a non-profit, and inspire others. "I would like to think that I would have done it regardless, but if I really think about it, I mean I would have felt terrible, but would I have spoken out? Probably not. And even if I did, who would listen? So it has definitely changed my life for the better," she says.
Watch the full Crime Watch interview below, orclick here to view the full Fox 8 News interview.