Smart is now married with two children of her own.
Sixteen years later, Elizabeth Smart is revealing new details about her horrifying nine months in captivity in her new book.
Speaking to Inside Edition, Smart recounted the night of her 2002 abduction.
“I remember falling asleep and the next thing I remember hearing is a man's voice," she recalled. "Then I heard the voice again saying, 'I have a knife at your neck, don't make a sound, get up and come with me.’ I remember opening my eyes, and there sure enough was this man standing above me."
She also says the monsters who abducted her from her bedroom on that night had the intention of snatching another girl.
She says her kidnapper, Brian David Mitchell, wanted to snatch a girl he had seen in a photo.
“There were a couple times that he had other victims picked out that he wanted to go and kidnap," Smart told Inside Edition. "Truthfully, there was a part of me that wanted a friend. There was a part of me that wanted someone else with me to know what I was going through, thinking maybe we can escape together to make a stand against these two monsters. I knew it was wrong, but that didn't change the fact that I wanted a friend."
Now 30, Smart writes about the ordeal in her new book, Where There's Hope: Healing, Moving Forward and Never Giving Up.
To Read an Excerpt From 'Where There's Hope,' Click Here
She was held against her will by religious zealots Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee.
Mitchell is serving a life term in prison. Barzee, now 70, was sentenced to 15 years in Utah.
Today, Smart is a victim's rights advocate and also happily married and a very protective mom of two.
She says she doesn’t know if she "obsessively" checks the windows and doors but she "certainly" does make sure everything is protected.
Smart hopes her new book about survival will inspire readers.
“Anyone could pick this book up, even if they don't feel a connection to me, that's okay, because I feel like they could feel a connection to someone or something else said in this book,” she said.
RELATED STORIES
