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I Survived Ted Bundy: The Attack, Escape & PTSD That Changed My Life
She was an innocent Mormon girl. He was America's most notorious serial killer. When their paths crossed on a quiet autumn afternoon, he planned to kill her. But this victim had an incredible will to survive and would live to tell her story nearly three decades after he met death in a Florida electric chair. Ted Bundy brutally attacked Rhonda Stapley in a secluded Utah canyon in 1974. She miraculously escaped and hid her dark secret until now. This compelling real story of triumph over tragedy is both shocking and inspiring and told with the true courage of a victim turned survivor.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
November 3, 2016
After just recently finding out about this book, I got it and read it. The foreword by Ann Rule was a surprise and a delightful one. RIP Ann, you are missed. The book is a testament to the woman who wrote it, and what a survivor she is. Rhonda Stapley, when she was going to college in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1974, had a life-changing encounter with Ted Bundy one day while waiting for a bus. With her jaw hurting from dental surgery, she just wanted to get home. The bus was late, and when an attractive guy in a VW bug stopped to ask her if she needed a ride, and said he was going to the same place she was headed, she accepted.
That good looking guy turned out to be Ted Bundy, and she nearly lost her life that night. She resolved that no one would ever know that she'd been so foolish to get in a stranger's car and have this happen to her. She made up a cover story and laid low to hide her injuries, blaming part of her bruises on the dental surgery and avoiding people and missing classes for awhile. Despite the huge trauma, she managed to graduate and become a licensed pharmacist. After a rough period of reckless behaviors where she went out running alone at night to try and quiet her panic and battling through a dependency on drugs, Rhonda eventually managed to build a good life with a husband and 2 daughters and a job she loved. And then one day it all came tumbling down when her boss screamed and berated her over the phone. It brought the whole nightmare back to her, throwing her into an awful tailspin.
This book shares how she got through it all with the help of a great counselor, and dealt with the PTSD that was destroying every aspect of her life. It was threatening her job as an assistant pharmacy manager, her long term marriage, her belief in her Morman religion, and her relationships with family and friends. It was heartbreaking reading about all that she went through, he really devastated her life for a long while, and in ways it took her decades to begin to understand, and is probably still working on it to this day. But she's still here, and Bundy sizzled out long ago, so she gets the last laugh on him. Him with his cocky attitude that he can take her to the brink of death repeatedly, just for his sadistic kicks, then jerk her right back into this world as she started to expire. Like a game made just for him.
I found the book moving, terrifying, and very enlightening. I commend Rhonda Stapley for her incredible bravery, then and now.
That good looking guy turned out to be Ted Bundy, and she nearly lost her life that night. She resolved that no one would ever know that she'd been so foolish to get in a stranger's car and have this happen to her. She made up a cover story and laid low to hide her injuries, blaming part of her bruises on the dental surgery and avoiding people and missing classes for awhile. Despite the huge trauma, she managed to graduate and become a licensed pharmacist. After a rough period of reckless behaviors where she went out running alone at night to try and quiet her panic and battling through a dependency on drugs, Rhonda eventually managed to build a good life with a husband and 2 daughters and a job she loved. And then one day it all came tumbling down when her boss screamed and berated her over the phone. It brought the whole nightmare back to her, throwing her into an awful tailspin.
This book shares how she got through it all with the help of a great counselor, and dealt with the PTSD that was destroying every aspect of her life. It was threatening her job as an assistant pharmacy manager, her long term marriage, her belief in her Morman religion, and her relationships with family and friends. It was heartbreaking reading about all that she went through, he really devastated her life for a long while, and in ways it took her decades to begin to understand, and is probably still working on it to this day. But she's still here, and Bundy sizzled out long ago, so she gets the last laugh on him. Him with his cocky attitude that he can take her to the brink of death repeatedly, just for his sadistic kicks, then jerk her right back into this world as she started to expire. Like a game made just for him.
I found the book moving, terrifying, and very enlightening. I commend Rhonda Stapley for her incredible bravery, then and now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2017
This book is so important. Don't be confused by it's length. It packs millions of emotions in its pages. It's sad to know that culturally we were ever at a place where a rape victim could be treated as a perpetrator . It is sadder still that old ideology still exists. No matter what a woman wears, no matter if she is alone when she shouldn't be, no matter what women don't deserve to be raped. No one deserves to be raped or should be blamed for the act. It is the rapist who is at fault.
June 6, 2017
HOLY MOLY!
That missing piece that bugged you-- not knowing what Ted Bundy actually did. Oh, you knew he's a psychopath, he's a terrible guy, serial killer-- but, there was only one escapee--and she escaped quickly. Not Rhonda.
Rhonda tells us, with great pain and angst, what happens when you are Ted Bundy's victim.
She explains her life, who, when, where, and what-- but at her pace. This is a life we are talking about. Rhonda suffers from PTSD-- and you also learn a GREAT deal about this as well. Incredible. She is my heroine!
That missing piece that bugged you-- not knowing what Ted Bundy actually did. Oh, you knew he's a psychopath, he's a terrible guy, serial killer-- but, there was only one escapee--and she escaped quickly. Not Rhonda.
Rhonda tells us, with great pain and angst, what happens when you are Ted Bundy's victim.
She explains her life, who, when, where, and what-- but at her pace. This is a life we are talking about. Rhonda suffers from PTSD-- and you also learn a GREAT deal about this as well. Incredible. She is my heroine!
May 11, 2018
This book touched me so deeply. And the author even responded to the emails I sent her which meant the world to me!
August 3, 2017
The book has what looks like kind of a cheap publishing job (like proofs for a print-on-demand when you self-publish), so I was a little skeptical. Ann Rule having written the foreword was a point in its favor.
The story itself was told well. It is interesting and Stapley has an easy to read style. Her book should be valuable for others struggling with PTSD.
There were two things that I found especially interesting. One is in the foreword. Rule recounts the murder of a woman (along with her child and neighbor) who testified against her attacker and was not informed of his later release. Horrible enough on its own, the number of rapes reported dropped dramatically after the story was widely reported. It felt important, especially in light of Stapley's own delay in revealing her attack: there are a lot of pressures out there and that should be treated with compassion and understanding, not guilt.
The other part is when Stapley's therapist is breaking down the extent of her trauma, which she has consistently tried to minimize.
Things that made it worse included the repetition in having to face death (Bundy kept nearly killing and then reviving her to prolong the torture). it being a personal attack rather than something suffered for a cause, a lack of support (partially due to no one knowing, but also that the handful of other survivors had escaped very early, not enduring the torture, or had been injured greatly enough to wipe out memories), and that Bundy's two escapes from custody always made it seem possible he could come back.
I imagine that for an analytical mind a breakdown like that could be helpful, but also I hope we can learn things from it to better support other trauma survivors. If nothing else, at least we can offer support.
The story itself was told well. It is interesting and Stapley has an easy to read style. Her book should be valuable for others struggling with PTSD.
There were two things that I found especially interesting. One is in the foreword. Rule recounts the murder of a woman (along with her child and neighbor) who testified against her attacker and was not informed of his later release. Horrible enough on its own, the number of rapes reported dropped dramatically after the story was widely reported. It felt important, especially in light of Stapley's own delay in revealing her attack: there are a lot of pressures out there and that should be treated with compassion and understanding, not guilt.
The other part is when Stapley's therapist is breaking down the extent of her trauma, which she has consistently tried to minimize.
Things that made it worse included the repetition in having to face death (Bundy kept nearly killing and then reviving her to prolong the torture). it being a personal attack rather than something suffered for a cause, a lack of support (partially due to no one knowing, but also that the handful of other survivors had escaped very early, not enduring the torture, or had been injured greatly enough to wipe out memories), and that Bundy's two escapes from custody always made it seem possible he could come back.
I imagine that for an analytical mind a breakdown like that could be helpful, but also I hope we can learn things from it to better support other trauma survivors. If nothing else, at least we can offer support.
Read
May 22, 2019She isn’t telling the truth. She stole this story from another woman who Bundy actually did pick up at a bus stop in 1972. That woman spoke out 40 years later but didn’t write a book about it. Ann Rule died in 2015 so she couldn’t have contributed to Stapley’s book. Also real victims wouldn’t take selfies holding tabloids/magazine articles with her tale in the cover, smiling at Walmart. If you look at all the victims they were young, attractive women. The escape is also similar to Ashley Judd’s in Kiss the Girls. If she didn’t want attention she wouldn’t be going on talk shows or doing book signings and speaking engagements. Don’t buy this book because she’s pulled the wool over everyone ‘s eyes and it’s a slap in the face to real victims.
April 26, 2016
Believable
This is a very readable book. Rhonda's description of how PTSD took over her life is heartbreaking. She made a good life for herself after Ted Bundy kidnapped her. That's impressive. It's wonderful she escaped and moved on. It's even better that she was able to deal with the hidden pain finally.
This account is totally believable. And it also has Ann Rules imprimatur.
This is a very readable book. Rhonda's description of how PTSD took over her life is heartbreaking. She made a good life for herself after Ted Bundy kidnapped her. That's impressive. It's wonderful she escaped and moved on. It's even better that she was able to deal with the hidden pain finally.
This account is totally believable. And it also has Ann Rules imprimatur.
May 8, 2017
Rhoda was attacked by Ted Bundy while in college in Utah. She got away and never told anyone. Supressed the crime in her head and emotionally. Only years later it bubbled up and she had to face her experience and learn to heal. This book is about Bundy and his horrors. It is more about trauma though. About surviving and trauma and healing. It is a remarkable story of a remarkably strong woman
April 21, 2018
Quick read. Powerful story of someone who actually survived this monster and the lifelong effects of his ruthless attack and the secret she kept. Details come with warnings...are not under- or over-played. Every young girl should know about "Ted" in order to be informed and on the lookout.
May 24, 2016
Riveting, though there are a few things I wish she'd addressed.
April 20, 2024
Good but difficult to get through. Wouldn't recommend if you've been through SA
July 31, 2016
"She was an innocent Mormon girl. He was America's most notorious serial killer. When their paths crossed on a quiet autumn afternoon, he planned to kill her. But this victim had an incredible will to survive and would live to tell her story nearly three decades after he met death in a Florida electric chair."
Reading this book interested me as I often read about the killers and not how the victims are affected. I do hope Rhonda is telling the truth and is not trying to make money of Bundy's name, however, I can't quite shake the feeling that she may be lying. Whoops. Like many books, I did find parts of this book boring and truly felt like she could have toned down on the description. Like when she mentioned that guy, "Adam" I believe he was called, she went into what felt like an awful lot of detail just to say that her roommate flirted with him and he called me ice cold and she never saw him again.
I also feel like she was trying to build up tension around the whole Bundy assault topic, as when talking with David she would mention it and it would finally seem like she was about to go into detail about what Bundy did and then back out at the last minute. I understand that was her PTSD, and anxiety and she felt like she couldn't deal with it at that time, but it also left me a little annoyed that she was dragging it out. The book was twenty-nine chapters long with a before and after bit, but I honestly felt with the amount of detail she went into, she shouldn't have ended it where she did. I feel like it kind of cut off. She just visited where the attack had happened and she spent three chapters saying she didn't want to go there and then she was describing her visit in what, two pages, and then it was going home, have dinner and end the book.
Reading this book interested me as I often read about the killers and not how the victims are affected. I do hope Rhonda is telling the truth and is not trying to make money of Bundy's name, however, I can't quite shake the feeling that she may be lying. Whoops. Like many books, I did find parts of this book boring and truly felt like she could have toned down on the description. Like when she mentioned that guy, "Adam" I believe he was called, she went into what felt like an awful lot of detail just to say that her roommate flirted with him and he called me ice cold and she never saw him again.
I also feel like she was trying to build up tension around the whole Bundy assault topic, as when talking with David she would mention it and it would finally seem like she was about to go into detail about what Bundy did and then back out at the last minute. I understand that was her PTSD, and anxiety and she felt like she couldn't deal with it at that time, but it also left me a little annoyed that she was dragging it out. The book was twenty-nine chapters long with a before and after bit, but I honestly felt with the amount of detail she went into, she shouldn't have ended it where she did. I feel like it kind of cut off. She just visited where the attack had happened and she spent three chapters saying she didn't want to go there and then she was describing her visit in what, two pages, and then it was going home, have dinner and end the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2022
I have very mixed feelings about this book. If this is a true story, I find myself not very understanding about why this author, Rhonda Stanley, did not go to the police to help prevent more murders and abductions. That is almost unforgivable. Lives would have been saved. Putting that aside, I found the last portion of the book more difficult to finish reading. I really found the deterioration of her relationship with her husband and their constant bickering boring. Sorry. Seemed to drag on after Rhonda met up with the therapist. I am so sorry this even happened, but I find it difficult to get past the fact that she didn’t report the abduction and rape to the authorities. I wish only the best for Ms. Staples.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2016
A first person account of a young Mormon woman, a pharmacy student in Salt Lake City, who alleges she was viciously attacked by Ted Bundy, almost killed, but escaped and survived. Burying the awful memories for decades while she went on to live a normal happy life, her eventual PTSD symptoms and subsequent psychiatric therapy led to her facing those memories and writing a book about it. Most of this book is a memoir of her life after the attack by Bundy. Though she does describe the gory details; it also covers her life as pharmacist, wife and mother.
February 26, 2018
I really admire Stapley's courage! It takes a lot for a survivor to come forward and admit that they were attacked, but it is a whole different level of bravery to come out with details! This is a good read for anyone wanting to understand PTSD and for individuals who are interested in the Bundy case.
May 29, 2016
PTSD can be debilatating
Very interesting and informative. Kept me reading from start to finish. Thank you for writing this book. I'm sure it will help many going through PTSD knowing they are not alone.
Very interesting and informative. Kept me reading from start to finish. Thank you for writing this book. I'm sure it will help many going through PTSD knowing they are not alone.
December 9, 2021
I had really high hopes for this book but sadly they didn’t meet them, I also feel like this is just actual survivors story’s put together and used for profit because the book didn’t really make any sense and a real survivors story would be longer then 3 pages.
June 10, 2016
Well written
What an incredible story. It is well written. You can feel her pain when she is dealing with PTSD. So glad she got past this.
What an incredible story. It is well written. You can feel her pain when she is dealing with PTSD. So glad she got past this.
December 1, 2019
A searing portrait of life with PTSD and what it means to "recover" from it.
November 4, 2023
I've read Rhonda's book, I've listened to a lot of her interviews and I can safely say that she is an amazing woman! The first thing that comes to people's minds when faced with such a trauma is suicide, but she was so strong that she managed to take control of everything and continue her career and start a family. Which not everyone in her position could have done.
And we have to say that there are a lot of people who say that her story is a lie and that she was ugly and that's why she couldn't have been attacked by him. There are even mentally ill people like Erin Banks who say that she harmed Bundy! People who would have nothing but respect for her if she had a police report or something like that are attacking her unfairly because of that. Of course we have some evidence, but before we get into that I will say that people who think that way are disgusting to me, even if they are not wrong in their own minds.
I did a lot of search of her story. I watched No Man of God, in it Bundy tells Bill Hagmaier that he had a victim who ran off into the woods as he went to get his tools in his car, and he didn't know if they ran home and never told anyone or if they died in the woods. We know that this movie came out in 2021 and that the interview between them was based on truth, and Rhonda couldn't have based her story on that, because like I said, the movie came out in 2021.
Also i learned that Leslie Rule said she heard from a writer during a dedective interview Bundy mentioned that a girl escaped him by jumping into a river. She asked to keep the name of that reporter, but she said someone is very credible. She said that in the months she worked with her as an editor, she was always consistent.
I also read that Rhonda's daughter gave an interview at her book signing. I seen her sister as she crying for her sister in news. Would she lie to her family too about such a thing? The person we are talking about is a smart businesswoman with a family and a job, not someone who lives on the fringes of society.
She doesn't seem like someone who trying to make money, because in her book she emphasizes that she is both a successful pharmacist and that her company is a successful business that even sells abroad.
I also learned Bundy bought gas in Salt Lake City on October 11. So many things...
I've read a lot about Bundy, and I always keep coming back to her story because she was able to overcome a painfully traumatic event and still have a family and a career instead of being a maniac's puppet. It was obvious that if she had told what happened to her in time, she would have earned people's anger and ridicule.
I think that disgusting people who make disgusting comments about someone who says they were raped, saying that they are lying just because the perpetrator is Bundy, and that they cannot be attacked by him because they are ugly, should be excluded from society. We don't need this people, really. But I'm sure they would be his best friend if he were alive, so I'm not surprised.
There's still a long way to go when it comes to respecting the victims, but people seem to insist on being insensitive until it happens to them. If you can't do anything, at least try to remain silent, I'm sure it will help them more.
Thanks to her for writing this book and sharing her story with everyone!
And we have to say that there are a lot of people who say that her story is a lie and that she was ugly and that's why she couldn't have been attacked by him. There are even mentally ill people like Erin Banks who say that she harmed Bundy! People who would have nothing but respect for her if she had a police report or something like that are attacking her unfairly because of that. Of course we have some evidence, but before we get into that I will say that people who think that way are disgusting to me, even if they are not wrong in their own minds.
I did a lot of search of her story. I watched No Man of God, in it Bundy tells Bill Hagmaier that he had a victim who ran off into the woods as he went to get his tools in his car, and he didn't know if they ran home and never told anyone or if they died in the woods. We know that this movie came out in 2021 and that the interview between them was based on truth, and Rhonda couldn't have based her story on that, because like I said, the movie came out in 2021.
Also i learned that Leslie Rule said she heard from a writer during a dedective interview Bundy mentioned that a girl escaped him by jumping into a river. She asked to keep the name of that reporter, but she said someone is very credible. She said that in the months she worked with her as an editor, she was always consistent.
I also read that Rhonda's daughter gave an interview at her book signing. I seen her sister as she crying for her sister in news. Would she lie to her family too about such a thing? The person we are talking about is a smart businesswoman with a family and a job, not someone who lives on the fringes of society.
She doesn't seem like someone who trying to make money, because in her book she emphasizes that she is both a successful pharmacist and that her company is a successful business that even sells abroad.
I also learned Bundy bought gas in Salt Lake City on October 11. So many things...
I've read a lot about Bundy, and I always keep coming back to her story because she was able to overcome a painfully traumatic event and still have a family and a career instead of being a maniac's puppet. It was obvious that if she had told what happened to her in time, she would have earned people's anger and ridicule.
I think that disgusting people who make disgusting comments about someone who says they were raped, saying that they are lying just because the perpetrator is Bundy, and that they cannot be attacked by him because they are ugly, should be excluded from society. We don't need this people, really. But I'm sure they would be his best friend if he were alive, so I'm not surprised.
There's still a long way to go when it comes to respecting the victims, but people seem to insist on being insensitive until it happens to them. If you can't do anything, at least try to remain silent, I'm sure it will help them more.
Thanks to her for writing this book and sharing her story with everyone!
October 25, 2018
Ted Bundy the animal
I was curious more than anything! When I began reading the thoughts came to me anyone is vulnerable! The seventies: one did not hear of heinous crimes as we do now! Bundy was an evil man and had no compassion for women, I believe he hated them! This book opened another level explaining during and after affects it has years after! Rhonda is a heroine, managed to live in secret for many years from her attack, did the things that needed to be done and years later tell her horrific ordeal. The writing and explanations was super. I highly recommend to those who want to read for curiosity and/or have experienced brutal attacks. I'm sure MS. Stapley
remembrance was difficult to write the book but she did. It was sad, heartbroken, horrendous, but in the end she remains free from Bundy. Her nightmare is over.
I was curious more than anything! When I began reading the thoughts came to me anyone is vulnerable! The seventies: one did not hear of heinous crimes as we do now! Bundy was an evil man and had no compassion for women, I believe he hated them! This book opened another level explaining during and after affects it has years after! Rhonda is a heroine, managed to live in secret for many years from her attack, did the things that needed to be done and years later tell her horrific ordeal. The writing and explanations was super. I highly recommend to those who want to read for curiosity and/or have experienced brutal attacks. I'm sure MS. Stapley
remembrance was difficult to write the book but she did. It was sad, heartbroken, horrendous, but in the end she remains free from Bundy. Her nightmare is over.
January 11, 2020
I suppose we can never be sure 100% if Rhonda's account of being assaulted by Ted Bundy is true, because by coming forward almost 40 years later there is no way to prove it. Her story moved me in ways that I was not expecting. She is either a strong survivor or an elaborate story teller. I don't believe that she could have made up the how PTSD seeped into all parts of her life and written about it in a way that would make me feel her pain inflicted by the monster that was Ted Bundy if it was just a tall tale. If Ann Rule fact checked the timeline and details, I think it is Rhonda that survivor. Fast, emotional read that I didn't want to put down.
June 14, 2021
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ a must read for true crime readers. I couldn't put this book down. To hear Rhonda's experience with Ted Bundy and how she survived was so interesting. It gave more perspective to what his other victims must have felt during their ordeals. Rhonda also details her struggles with survivors guilt and PTSD and all the other ramifications and impacts his attack on her and ongoing murders had on her. An amazing, heartwrenching and inspiring read. #rhondastapley #isurvivedtedbundy #tea_sipping_bookworm #goodreads #litsy #thestorygraph #truecrime #bookqueen #bookstagram
August 29, 2022
I am very into true crime, so I read "The Bundy Murders" by Sullivan, Kevin first. I have also listened to multiple podcasts about Ted. So I figured this book would be a good fit for me to read.
The book went into a lot of details about Rhonda's life, before and after her encounter with Bundy. She talked about a lot of her struggles with pills, her family, jobs and PTSD. It was a quick and easy read, during the whole book. It truly was a rollercoaster, and I felt so many emotions during the whole thing.
The book went into a lot of details about Rhonda's life, before and after her encounter with Bundy. She talked about a lot of her struggles with pills, her family, jobs and PTSD. It was a quick and easy read, during the whole book. It truly was a rollercoaster, and I felt so many emotions during the whole thing.
March 1, 2019
Survivor
A testament ov courage and strength. Her resilience and fortitude her willingness to cling to life is a example that no matter what challenges we may face in life with the help of God, ecclesiastical leaders, and good people we can persevere through any thing. Thank you Rhonda for sharing your incredible experience.I'm sure your book will help countless others overcome their demons.
A testament ov courage and strength. Her resilience and fortitude her willingness to cling to life is a example that no matter what challenges we may face in life with the help of God, ecclesiastical leaders, and good people we can persevere through any thing. Thank you Rhonda for sharing your incredible experience.I'm sure your book will help countless others overcome their demons.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2023
I’ll never be sure 100% if Rhonda being assaulted by Ted Bundy is true although Her story really did move me in ways that I was not expecting. She is either a strong survivor or an amazing story teller. I don't believe that she could have made up how the PTSD seeped into all parts of her life and written about it in a way that would make me feel her pain inflicted by the monster that was Ted Bundy if it was just a story.
May 16, 2019
An amazing true story of a Bundy survivor. With a foreword by Ann Rule and the deeply personal details from the author, I believe Rhonda’s story to be factual. The book is very well written and details her life before the attack, the attack, and up to present day. I especially appreciated Rhonda sharing details of her therapy sessions.
December 6, 2020
I am truly amazed at Rhonda's strength, resilience and courage. I can't believe she kept such a horrible trauma to herself for so many years. I applaud her for being authentic and vulnerable, so she could help other women who have suffered trauma and PTSD.
I think her story can help others in so many ways. It was therapeutic for me to read.
I think her story can help others in so many ways. It was therapeutic for me to read.
October 29, 2019
Survivor
Thrilling triumph and victory. Overcomer that's what you are. A must read for everyone, showing that there is light at the end of every tunnel no matter how dark they may seems.
Thrilling triumph and victory. Overcomer that's what you are. A must read for everyone, showing that there is light at the end of every tunnel no matter how dark they may seems.
January 2, 2020
This is one of the girls that got of away from that horrible man called Ted Bundy. I thought that is very interesting book. It describes what she went thru after she escaped. I give her alot of credit for what she did, how she did it and how she survived.
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