At 12, Sabine Dardenne’s world turned dark.

In May 1996, this ordinary Belgian schoolgirl was abducted by Marc Dutroux while biking to school.
Locked in a hidden underground cellar — no light, no time, no hope — she endured 80 days of unimaginable isolation and abuse.
Yet she refused to break.

She whispered her family’s names to remember herself.
She wrote imaginary letters.
She spoke back — not in surrender, but in quiet defiance.
On August 15, 1996, police found her alive, exposing Belgium’s tragic failures.
In her memoir I Choose to Live, Sabine shares not the horror, but her unbreakable choice.

Today, she stands as proof: even in total darkness, the human spirit can endure.
Survival is the ultimate resistance.
#SabineDardenne #Resilience #TrueStory #Courage #HumanStrength