BARRON, Wisc. – When Elizabeth Smart came home after nine months in captivity, she struggled with the notoriety that accompanied her abduction.

She couldn’t go anywhere without being recognized. Trips to the grocery store took longer. She was no longer a wallflower.

Her return was the beginning of a new journey, she told Barron County, Wisconsin, residents Friday.

“In my mind, I thought that I could just go back to who I was before I was kidnapped,” she said. “At that point in time, I didn’t realize that actually, that girl, Elizabeth Smart, who existed before I was kidnapped, didn’t exist anymore.”

Smart spoke at Barron High School to help the community move forward after the return of 13-year-old Jayme Closs, whose escape from the home of Jake Patterson two months ago drew national headlines.

...

Smart also emphasized that one should never ask a victim a question that starts with, “Why didn’t you?”

“Whatever they have done, they did the right thing, because they survived,” she said.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/16/jayme-closs-elizabeth-smart-talks-healing-wisconsin-town-hall/3184787002/