(The Spokesman-Review) COEUR D ALENE Shasta Groene McClain is coming to Coeur d Alene with a story to share, twenty years after her family was brutally murdered and she was tortured by their perpetrator.
Groene McClain and true crime author Gregg Olsen will autograph copies of Olsen’s latest book, Out of the Woods, which chronicles the events leading up to and following her captivity by serial killer Joseph Edward Duncan III, on August 8 at the Well Read Moose.
How courageous she must be to accomplish this is beyond me. Liz Burkwist, who planned the signing ceremony at Groene McClain and Olsen’s request, stated that she wouldn’t want to if it were up to her. However, she’s accomplished a lot that I couldn’t.
Eight-year-old Shasta and her brother Dylan, nine, were kidnapped from their Coeur d’Alene home by Duncan after they were made to watch and listen to him beat their mother, older brother, and their mother’s fiancé to death in May 2005.
After holding the siblings in the Lolo National Forest, Duncan killed Dylan after abusing them repeatedly. Duncan saved Shasta’s life by taking her to a Denny’s for dinner. It has been 48 days since she vanished.
At the time of Shasta and Dylan’s disappearance, Olsen was in Kellogg, Idaho, writing a book about the Sunshine Mine Disaster. He recalls hearing people discussing and praying for the missing children as well as seeing the billboards and banners on the roadway.
“I don’t think there was a story that broke our hearts more for the Pacific Northwest, but it also made us happier than when she came home,” Olsen said. We simply couldn’t believe it, really.
Olsen claimed that he and all those involved in the case kept thinking about the surviving sibling as the years went by. About five years ago, he asked her if she would collaborate with him on a book.
Why don’t we know this little girl’s story? I used to ask myself. He remarked, “You know, she’s a young woman now, and I want to know her story.” She said that she was prepared to share it.
Groene McClain stated she had been working on a novel with a close friend before Olsen contacted her. Groene McClain was not able to access the book’s fundraising, which the buddy started.
She hurried off as soon as the money appeared in the account. McClain Groene stated. You realize how helpless I felt?
Groene McClain claimed that when Olsen approached her about writing a book, he had told her that she didn’t have to respond immediately and that they could stay in touch while she considered the idea. At that moment, she made the decision that he would be the one to share her story.
It was like shouting into space for years. I wanted to tell my experience, but no one was really interested. It was excessive. “It’s too awful to hear,” she said in an Oprah Daily post.
In her work, Groene McClain described her conversation with Olsen as a life-changing event. She felt incomplete because, up until now, people had only ever heard fragments of her narrative.
Groene McClain wrote, “Previously, those who did bother to look at my life after saw only my problems.” We investigated the why this time. I was able to better understand myself and my experiences through self-reflection.
Groene McClain said that she, Olsen, and psychologist Robin Bailey met in person three times between noon and two in the morning to do the interview. She thought of the two as family by the end.
Groene McClain remarked, “It’s strange because you would think that must have been exhausting, but it was just pure laughter.” Really, just concentrating on the current work. We managed to connect.
Out of the Woods oscillates between Groene McClain’s recollections. She talked about her difficult family life prior to the kidnappings, her time in the Montana forest with her brother and Duncan, and her many futile attempts to change into the typical girl she desired to be following the kidnappings.
The way it transpired in real time, in her treatment, seemed to be the only way to understand it, Olsen said. She couldn’t tell her entire tale to anyone since they didn’t want to hear it, so I felt that was the best course of action.
Living in Coeur d’Alene when the Groene children went missing, Burkwist characterized the book as unvarnished and eerie.
This is the horrific and startling account of what happened to her, but it also includes everything that transpired later, which I was actually unaware of. However, it is the girl who survived.
“I hope people understand the complexity of trauma and that severe trauma is something that may take a lifetime to overcome, and maybe you can’t overcome it,” Olsen said, describing her story as one of the most horrifying and terrible cases in the history of true crime. He claimed that those who have experienced severe trauma will always require our love and support. Always.
She is an amazing individual. She’s funny. She is considerate. She’s quick. “She possesses every quality you would desire in a friend,” he remarked. However, I want people to realize that she also bears a bigger burden that isn’t often visible.
Groene McClain expressed her desire for fellow trauma survivors to be hopeful. She claimed that numerous therapists informed her that they couldn’t assist her because her trauma was too severe, leaving her with the impression that she would never receive the care she required to recover.
In her piece, she stated, “I want people to know that being rescued didn’t end the trauma of what happened to me and my brother.” I want other survivors to understand that they are not alone, that it’s acceptable to feel broken, and that healing isn’t about feeling better but rather about attempting to continue when everything around you seems to be telling you to give up. That’s sufficient.
Olsen stated that he supports this woman and her right to be heard, seeing himself as merely a conduit for her narrative.
“She is an amazing young adult navigating life with everything that has been thrown at her, and she was an amazing little girl to survive what she survived,” he said. And it s not been pretty, but she s a fighter and she s proven that out in the woods in Montana, and she s proving it right now.
Groene McClain had no choice but to return to Coeur d Alene for a book signing. She said she wants to show the town that showered her in love and support that she is overcoming her past, and she hopes that the people who donated to her friend s fundraiser years ago will come and get what they were promised.
She remarked, “I want to thank everyone who has supported me over the years and prayed for me.” I will always be appreciative of their encouragement throughout my lowest points.
