We’ve been excited to share this news for a long time and finally have the go-ahead. On Friday, October 13th, Jacob’s story will be featured in a two-hour episode on ABC’s 20/20!
We’ve been working with the producers from 20/20 since back in April and they’ve been to Minnesota several times to film and interview key people who are close to the case. This includes investigators, suspects, witnesses, reporters, and many more. It promises to be an in-depth reporting of this very long and complicated case, but also a story about hope, resilience, faith and friendship.
Dear Jacob: A Mother’s Journey of Hope will be released the same week as the 20/20 episode, so it will be a busy and exciting time for us as we officially kick off our book tour! After so many years of planning, writing, editing and publishing this book, it’s hard to believe it’s only a few weeks away now!
We look forward to meeting many of you at our upcoming author events and book signings! For a full list, please visit our Events page.
Here are a few photos from some of our 20/20 interviews. It’s amazing the amount of setup, coordination, and re-arranging of furniture they need to do just to make this happen!

Talk of the Stacks
The "official" launch event for Dear Jacob: A Mother’s Journey of Hope will be held on Wednesday, October 18th at "Talk of the Stacks," sponsored by Friends of the Hennepin County Library. It starts at 6:30 PM and takes place both virtually and in-person inside Pohlad Hall at the Minneapolis Central Library. Tickets are free and we would love to see you there! To get more details or to sign up, visit https://www.supporthclib.org/talk-stacks.
Upcoming Author Events
Our publicity team at Minnesota Historical Society Press has been busy lining up author talks and book signings for us. To see all the latest updates, please visit our Events page.
Pre-order now
Dear Jacob: A Mother’s Journey of Hope is available for pre-order from your favorite bookseller, online retailer, or local library. Here are a few links to choose from:
Patty and family,
My son was 3 years old when your Jacob was abducted. Jacobs story changed my way of parenting from the day forward. My boys weren’t always happy to be told they couldn’t leave our cul-de-sac without an adult, but all I had to do was say your Sons name and they understood.. Even at the age of 15 they still had limits of where they could be without a parent.
My Sons are parents of their own children now. They are amazing fathers and now they know that feeling I felt about your Jacob and they have it I still in them. Patty, your love and strength over the years has deeply touched my heart. Love and Hugs to you and your family. Someday when we are all in Heaven I hope to meet you and your Jacob.. 💗💙
God Bless you Patty. My family and I followed the story from day one and shared your tears! We are from northern MN. Thank you for doing this. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be. Looking forward to watching.
Susan Wiirre