A Father's Story

A Father's Story
Author: Lionel Dahmer
Publisher: Echo Point Books & Media, LLC
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2021-08-17
Genre: True Crime
ISBN:

Raising a Serial Killer A Father's Search for Answers In July of 1991 the country was shocked by the unfathomable crimes of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. But no one was more shocked than his parents. In A Father's Story, the reader is witness to the incremental unraveling of a parent's image of their child, and the "thousand different reactions" that follow. In his attempt to understand the nature of his son's psychosis, Lionel Dahmer methodically scrutinizes every possible contributing factor to his son's madness. His desperation is palpable as he searches for clues in the emotional, psychological, and genetic landscape of his son's life. Riveting and soul-wrenching, this unprecedented memoir is the confession of a father who must "confront the saddest truth a human can know-that his child has somehow crossed the line that separates the human from the monstrous."

A Father's Story

A Father's Story
Author: Lionel Dahmer
Publisher: Sphere
Total Pages: 270
Release: 1995
Genre: Murder
ISBN: 9780751513103

On July 23, 1991, Milwaukee chemist Lionel Dahmer discovered - along with the rest of the world - that his son Jeffrey was a murderer who, over a period of many years, had carried out some of the most ghastly crimes ever committed. As the trial progressed, and the crimes of his son were graphically detailed, Lionel began to place himself in the dock beside his son. In the torturous weeks following Jeff's conviction, he continued his descent towards that harrowing point at which the line of his own life inevitably intersected with his son's. This book is not the story of Jeffrey Dahmer at all, but of a father who, by slow degrees, came to realize the saddest truth any parent may ever know: that following some unknowable process, his child had somewhere crossed the line that divides the human from the monstrous. It is both a touching family memoir and a haunting memoir - the account of a man who never relented in his effort to fathom the deepest quarters of his son's afflictions, even as they pointed to his own. It is a document on the nature of fatherhood, the origins of madness, and the role of kinship in the legacy of evil.

Saving Ben

Saving Ben
Author: Dan Eric Burns
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2009
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1574412698

The story of Ben's regression as an infant into the world of autism, and his journey toward recovery as a young adult.

Kidjacked - a Father's Story

Kidjacked - a Father's Story
Author: Scott Lesnick
Publisher:
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2013-03-15
Genre: Custody of children
ISBN: 9780988946309

"The true account of how Scott Lesnick persevered, not once but twice, to get his two small children back to the United States after they were abducted to the Middle East by the person he trusted most--his wife."--Page 4 of cover.

Reena

Reena
Author: Manjit Virk
Publisher: Heritage House Publishing Co
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2011-02-01
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1926613228

The tragic murder of Reena Virk—which inspired the major television series Under the Bridge—and its aftermath are recounted in heart-wrenching detail by her grieving father. The horrifying killing of fourteen-year-old Reena Virk at the hands of her peers in 1997 shocked and stunned the public. This callous act of violence drew nation-wide attention to bullying and cast a spotlight on Virk’s mourning parents, Manjit and Suman, who had already been let down by social services and law enforcement by the time of their daughter’s murder. In Reena: A Father’s Story, Manjit Virk speaks out for the first time about his family’s life before and after Reena’s death. This is a powerful story of an immigrant family’s struggles to make a new life in a new country, the cultural clashes they endured, the anguish they experienced over their loss of their child, and, ultimately, their perseverance in the face of unspeakable tragedy and public scrutiny.

My Living Will

My Living Will
Author: John Trautwein
Publisher: WestBow Press
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2014-12-11
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1490859748

My Living Will is the story of former major league pitcher John Trautwein, and the unbelievable tragedy which befell him and his family when his fifteen-year-old son, Will, took his own life. There had been no warnings, no obvious signs of anxiety, depression, or unhappiness; nothing. A family and a community were left stunned as they pondered how a young man like Will Trautwein, a healthy, happy, popular, athletic, and musical teenager, who came from such a loving home, could lose the will to live. “John Trautwein writes straight from the heart. And his words will save lives. The story Trautwein shares in these pages––a remarkable journey of passion and purpose––will literally save lives.” • Jeffrey Marx, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Season of Life “John Trautwein’s story inspires hope. It empowers people, and it gives its readers the ‘hope for life.’ The triumph that this story imparts arouses the goodness in everyone as it drives people toward action.” • Joe Girardi, Manager, The New York Yankees “In my twenty-two years of broadcasting, I have told many stories of triumph over tragedy, but the story of Will Trautwein and his family has stayed with me. The loss of such a vibrant young man and the strength of his family to use their heartache to help has had an impact on how I parent my daughter, and how I report stories of teenage depression and suicide. This is a must-read if you have a teenager in your life.” • Stephany Fisher, Anchor, CBS News, Atlanta “Ever wonder if a young person in your own home might be at risk? Read this book. In “My Living Will,” John Trautwein takes the emotions of loss and turns them into a message of awareness and hope. A must read for parents and teenagers alike!” • Dan Shaughnessy, The Boston Globe

When Time Stopped

When Time Stopped
Author: Ariana Neumann
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2020-02-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1982106395

In this astonishing story that “reads like a thriller and is so, so timely” (BuzzFeed) Ariana Neumann dives into the secrets of her father’s past: “Like Anne Frank’s diary, it offers a story that needs to be told and heard” (Booklist, starred review). In 1941, the first Neumann family member was taken by the Nazis, arrested in German-occupied Czechoslovakia for bathing in a stretch of river forbidden to Jews. He was transported to Auschwitz. Eighteen days later his prisoner number was entered into the morgue book. Of thirty-four Neumann family members, twenty-five were murdered by the Nazis. One of the survivors was Hans Neumann, who, to escape the German death net, traveled to Berlin and hid in plain sight under the Gestapo’s eyes. What Hans experienced was so unspeakable that, when he built an industrial empire in Venezuela, he couldn’t bring himself to talk about it. All his daughter Ariana knew was that something terrible had happened. When Hans died, he left Ariana a small box filled with letters, diary entries, and other memorabilia. Ten years later Ariana finally summoned the courage to have the letters translated, and she began reading. What she discovered launched her on a worldwide search that would deliver indelible portraits of a family loving, finding meaning, and trying to survive amid the worst that can be imagined. A “beautifully told story of personal discovery” (John le Carré), When Time Stopped is an unputdownable detective story and an epic family memoir, spanning nearly ninety years and crossing oceans. Neumann brings each relative to vivid life, and this “gripping, expertly researched narrative will inspire those looking to uncover their own family histories” (Publishers Weekly).