( CNN ) -- Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus were n't in the Cleveland courtroom Thursday for the sentencing of their captor , Ariel Castro . But their words , recorded in diaries , gave authorities a window into the horror they suffered for a decade . Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty wrote about the diaries in a sentencing memo . Berry , DeJesus and Michelle Knight did `` everything humanly possible to retain a sense of normalcy '' McGinty said , including marking the passage of time through written diaries . The diaries provide further details of the women 's life and torment . McGinty reveals that one diary 's descriptions of abuse provided evidence his office used for many of the specific counts against Castro . Castro has pleaded guilty to 937 counts of kidnapping , rape and murder . Diaries kept by the women contain descriptions of these crimes , including sexual abuse , being locked in a dark room and being chained to a wall . McGinty says other entries contain anticipation of abuse yet to come , including Castro 's death threats . But the diaries also showed traces of hope , including `` the dreams of someday escaping and being reunited with family . '' Amanda Berry 's entries focused on her mother , according to psychiatrist Frank Ochberg 's assessment of the women 's captivity as part of the sentencing statement . Ochberg , an expert in trauma , wrote that the diaries showed the women 's `` will to prevail . '' According to Ochberg , Berry addressed almost every entry in her diary to her mother . Berry 's mother , Louwanna Miller , worked tirelessly to find her daughter . Miller died of heart failure in 2006 ; those who knew her said it was more like a broken heart . After Berry learned of her mother 's death , she began addressing her entries to `` her mother in heaven . '' The entries show Berry at once seeking to `` soothe her mother as she prayed for her own deliverance and the health of her little girl . '' Berry 's daughter , fathered by Castro , was born on Christmas Day of 2006 . McGinty writes that `` when the baby was born she was not breathing . Michelle Knight breathed into the baby 's mouth in an effort to save her . '' A difficult endeavor , made more intense by Castro 's threat to kill Knight should the baby die . `` Miraculously , '' McGinty writes , `` the baby survived . '' The sentencing memo provides other descriptions of heroism . Ochberg says that Knight , in addition to serving as a de facto doctor to Berry , also `` interceded when Castro sought to abuse Gina . '' An action , Ochberg says , that resulted in further physical and sexual trauma for Knight . Ochberg said that `` on rare occasions all four captives were allowed to be together and they managed to share faith and friendship . '' He also noted that Berry managed to pass on knowledge and values to her daughter , something the other two women supported `` when possible . '' But Ochberg says the bright moments , the remarkable and inspiring ones , should not `` paint a rosy picture for normalcy or quick recovery . '' Castro , Ochberg writes , `` turned truth and commonsense on its head and fed that to his captives . '' The beatings , the repeated rapes , the forced miscarriages and the deprivation of basic human sanitation led to complex post-traumatic stress disorder . `` It is the result of victimization over a long period of time , '' Ochberg says , `` or in the years when personality and character are being formed . '' Castro `` appeared to be evolving in an ever more dangerous direction , '' Ochberg writes , `` capturing younger and younger women , telling his captives he was hunting for replacements . '' The women must have known that any new captives would not have meant freedom -- rather they must have known , Ochberg concludes , `` replacement meant death . ''
Diaries written by two of Ariel Castro 's captives are detailed in a sentencing memo . The diaries were written by Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus . Psychiatrist Frank Ochberg wrote that the diaries showed the women 's `` will to prevail ''