Christina Reviews *I Know My First Name Is Steven* by Mike Echols

         This is the true story of Steven Stayner, a 7 year old boy who is abducted by a sex predator named Kenneth Parnell and held against his will for seven years.  The abductor lies to him and tells him that his parents don’t want him anymore.  The boy doesn’t dare go for help because he is afraid of what will happen to him if he tries to escape.  When Steven is fourteen, Parnell abducts another little boy named Timmy White on Valentine's Day.  Only when this new boy has been abducted does Steven realize that Kenneth Parnell lied to him.  With Timmy in tow, Steven runs away one night while Parnell is at work.   
It’s actually very similar to the case of Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby --- the two Missouri boys who were rescued from a pedophile’s apartment four years ago.  Both Shawn and Steven were allowed to come and go as they pleased and make friends with other kids their age.  They were given a lot of freedom but paid for it in ways many of us can only imagine.  The Stayner kidnapping happened in the seventies.  I also read the book Invisible Chains which is about the Shawn Hornbeck kidnapping.

         I know that there is often something trashy about true crime novels.  They tend to wallow in the details.  But occasionally, I am drawn to books about certain cases.  This was one such book.  It is also worth noting that Steven's brother Cary grew up to be the Yosemite killer.  I think there is an afterward in this book about the Yosemite murders.

        Steven died in a motorcycle accident sometime around 1989.  By that point, he was married with two young children.  It’s a tragic story in so many ways.  One can only wonder how a single family can endure so much pain.  Timmy White died more recently.  He was in his 30‘s.

       I actually prefer the TV movie to the book for two reasons.

       1.  The movie stars Corin Nemec aka Parker Lewis.

       2.  The movie isn’t as graphic as the book.  I had to skip over parts of the book because  they were too intense.