Jaycee Dugard, now 29, appears on the cover of People magazine Wednesday. (People magazine)

Jaycee Dugard, who was recently reunited with her family 18 years after being kidnapped as a child is having a "joyous reunion" with them, says People magazine, which features her on its cover.

"I'm so happy to be back with my family," Dugard, 29, told People.

Now on the road to recovery, she is living in seclusion with her mom and her two daughters in northern California, where she rides horses, cooks meals and is thinking of collaborating on a book, according to People.

"We were all just getting to know each other again," Tina Dugard, Jaycee's aunt, told People in an interview. "Jaycee and I just sat around, and she talked about her favourite foods and things we wanted to do. And one day she said, 'I'm so happy. I feel so happy.'"

Jaycee is shown smiling, with long, light brown hair in photos in the magazine. She and her two daughters, mother and sister are close, comfortable and happy, and "seem like any other family," family spokeswoman Erika Shulte told NBC television in New York on Wednesday.

Jaycee was 11 when she was abducted in 1991 from South Lake Tahoe. She was found Aug. 26.

This family photo provided by Carl Probyn shows his stepdaughter, Jaycee Lee Dugard, who went missing in 1991. (Associated Press)

Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy have pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, rape and imprisonment charges.

Police say Garrido fathered Jaycee's two daughters — Angel, 15, and Starlit, 11 — and kept them in a backyard encampment of tents and sheds in Antioch, Calif.

Jaycee's family prefers to focus on the positive, Tina Dugard said. She told People she is amazed at how much Jaycee taught her daughters.

"One of them pointed out constellations; the other knew a certain plant was a nasturtium."

The girls look like their mom, with "blond hair, bright blue eyes, big smile," and have been playing Nintendo DS games, Tina Dugard said.

"It almost feels like it's not real. I know the road ahead is filled with a lot of different experiences. But for now Jaycee is back with us, and she feels happy," Tina Dugard said.

Jaycee decided to release the photos and do an interview with People to "share her joy with the world" and show how well she's doing, Shulte said.

With files from The Associated Press