Shot in the Heart
2 journalers for this copy...
pick it up at a yard sale
promised to mbmeadow for her birthday
this book was really sad. Alot of the places that this happen in the oregon part is right by where I live..
Journal Entry 4 by fungirl503 at Another Bookcrosser in -- Mail, by hand, rings, RABCks etc, Oregon USA on Friday, December 3, 2004
Released on Friday, December 03, 2004 at about 10:00:00 AM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at fellow bookcrosser in postal release, Oregon USA.
RELEASE NOTES:
this book is going to mbmeadow
RELEASE NOTES:
this book is going to mbmeadow
Thanks to fungirl503. It arrived safely, and it's next in line to read.
I had a hard time putting this book down, even though it was depressingly sad.
Mikal Gilmore writes about his family's history, and what could have contributed to his brother Gary's famous killings in the 70s.
Gary was the first man to be executed in Utah and I think in the United States after the death penalty was reinstated. But unlike most death row inmates, Gary wanted no more appeals, wanted no more stays on his death. He wanted to attone, he wanted it to be over with, and he wanted for the institutionalization of his life to be over. He became a figure of fame, and a book and movie were written more about his death.
The story of this family was tragic. Mikal Gilmore paints a very human portrait of his family and all the reasons Gary might have ended up the way he did.
Although you might wince at all the bad things Gary did, you still hope that he will turn out OK in the end. You keep holding out hope, seeing him as a human and not as a murderer.
Mikal Gilmore, the youngest of four, was separated in age from the rest of the boys. His parents hoped he would be the one good son, the one that would go unscathed from the blight of their family.
But even Mikal had demons. A journalist, he spent time in oblivion in drugs and alcohol, though he never had the criminal leanings of Gary or Gaylen.
The story of Mikal's parents, told through research, since he knew little of it firsthand, is also sad. His father was about 30 years older than his mother, and had married more women than he could count, and probably left behind more children than the family knew about.
His father, Frank was often a scam artist, dragging his newest wife, Bessie, into a life of scams, dragging their children from place to place, being chased by some unnamed demon.
Frank began taking out his demons on his wife, beating her and beating their older children. But Mikal was the one untouched. He writes the history of the family he never fully knew or understood.
He writes more than just about Gary, the brother he didn't know as well as he would have liiked. The brother who admits that he might have killed Mikal instead of two innocent Mormons if he hadn't been arrrested.
Mikal doesn't know any of his brothers that well. Frank Jr., who could have turned out to free himself from most of the demons, had a dark time too. He went to prison for conscientious objecting, and ended up chained to their mother until her death. Then he ended up as a vagrant, never staying in one place, and lost to Mikal for many years.
Gaylen, the third child, and the one Mikal was closest to in affection and age, had a wandering way much like his father, and it ended up killing him.
This entire book was basically very sad. Gilmore does a good job of painting his family in gritty reality, all warts and anger, but they're also very human. You want all these smart boys to turn out right in the end, but they never do.
I'm sure this book did a much better job than the movie or book based on Gary's end, though I've not tried to seek out either. I think they would be a disappointment. Whether Mikal gets all the details, he gets enough, and it must have been a very painful examination of his family to undergo.
It also makes me realize that all families, all people, can go wrong at some point. Some of us have tough lives, but work to overcome it. Some just drown in the evil, and never get to come back up for air.
Any family can have something like this happen. Some children turn out good, some bad. There's no telling what makes one person a murderer, and another person an upstanding member of society.
There's no measure of blame. There's no reason.
And there's no happy ending for Mikal Gilmore. His life was always marred by the undertones of his family. As of the writing of this book, he had no children, had one failed marriage, and essentially, the haunted line of the Gilmores had come to a close.
Mikal Gilmore writes about his family's history, and what could have contributed to his brother Gary's famous killings in the 70s.
Gary was the first man to be executed in Utah and I think in the United States after the death penalty was reinstated. But unlike most death row inmates, Gary wanted no more appeals, wanted no more stays on his death. He wanted to attone, he wanted it to be over with, and he wanted for the institutionalization of his life to be over. He became a figure of fame, and a book and movie were written more about his death.
The story of this family was tragic. Mikal Gilmore paints a very human portrait of his family and all the reasons Gary might have ended up the way he did.
Although you might wince at all the bad things Gary did, you still hope that he will turn out OK in the end. You keep holding out hope, seeing him as a human and not as a murderer.
Mikal Gilmore, the youngest of four, was separated in age from the rest of the boys. His parents hoped he would be the one good son, the one that would go unscathed from the blight of their family.
But even Mikal had demons. A journalist, he spent time in oblivion in drugs and alcohol, though he never had the criminal leanings of Gary or Gaylen.
The story of Mikal's parents, told through research, since he knew little of it firsthand, is also sad. His father was about 30 years older than his mother, and had married more women than he could count, and probably left behind more children than the family knew about.
His father, Frank was often a scam artist, dragging his newest wife, Bessie, into a life of scams, dragging their children from place to place, being chased by some unnamed demon.
Frank began taking out his demons on his wife, beating her and beating their older children. But Mikal was the one untouched. He writes the history of the family he never fully knew or understood.
He writes more than just about Gary, the brother he didn't know as well as he would have liiked. The brother who admits that he might have killed Mikal instead of two innocent Mormons if he hadn't been arrrested.
Mikal doesn't know any of his brothers that well. Frank Jr., who could have turned out to free himself from most of the demons, had a dark time too. He went to prison for conscientious objecting, and ended up chained to their mother until her death. Then he ended up as a vagrant, never staying in one place, and lost to Mikal for many years.
Gaylen, the third child, and the one Mikal was closest to in affection and age, had a wandering way much like his father, and it ended up killing him.
This entire book was basically very sad. Gilmore does a good job of painting his family in gritty reality, all warts and anger, but they're also very human. You want all these smart boys to turn out right in the end, but they never do.
I'm sure this book did a much better job than the movie or book based on Gary's end, though I've not tried to seek out either. I think they would be a disappointment. Whether Mikal gets all the details, he gets enough, and it must have been a very painful examination of his family to undergo.
It also makes me realize that all families, all people, can go wrong at some point. Some of us have tough lives, but work to overcome it. Some just drown in the evil, and never get to come back up for air.
Any family can have something like this happen. Some children turn out good, some bad. There's no telling what makes one person a murderer, and another person an upstanding member of society.
There's no measure of blame. There's no reason.
And there's no happy ending for Mikal Gilmore. His life was always marred by the undertones of his family. As of the writing of this book, he had no children, had one failed marriage, and essentially, the haunted line of the Gilmores had come to a close.
