This is a story of despair that led to hope, of defeat that led to triumph, of fear transformed to empowerment.

Elizabeth Smart was only fourteen years old when she was abducted—taken at knife-point from her bed in her family’s Salt Lake City home. It was June 5, 2002, and what followed was one of the most famous child abduction cases of our time. Her captors threatened to kill her family if she tried to escape, leading her to an encampment deep in the woods on the outskirts of town.

Over the course of the next nine months, Smart endured unthinkable abuse—but the search for her never ceased and her family never gave up hope. Finally, on March 12, 2003, Smart was found and reunited with her family, and her captors were arrested.

But that was not the end of the story—only the beginning, in fact. Young Smart triumphantly testified about the very private nightmare she had suffered. She would go on to found the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, which exists to drive social change in the fight against sexual violence. Smart also helped promote the National AMBER Alert program, the Adam Walsh Child Protection & Safety Act, and other safety legislation to help prevent abductions.

She authored the bestselling book, My Story, in which she chronicles her experiences, as well as You’re Not Alone: The Journey from Abduction to Empowerment, a collaboration with other abduction survivors. Most recently, Smart has released Where There’s Hope, a powerful and inspiring book about what it takes to overcome trauma and to find strength to move forward and reclaim one’s life.

On Thursday, February 27, Elizabeth Smart will bring her story, and a message of overcoming adversity, to Texas Lutheran University. Following Smart’s presentation, there will be a meet-and-greet and book signing. The event, sponsored by the Jessie S. and Jack Harold Upton Brown Cultural Enrichment Endowment Fund, begins at 7 p.m. in Jackson Auditorium and is free and open to the public.