Walking After Midnight: One Woman's Journey Through Murder, Justice, and Forgiveness

by Katy Hutchison

Many people who have been harmed or wronged often feel that to respond with non-violence and forgiveness is to be weak. As Katy Hutchison reveals here, to forgive and seek reconciliation not only requires even more strength than a resort to force or retaliation, but also ensures deeper, more far-reaching beneficial consequences for all concerned. I am sure her remarkable story will serve as an inspiration to others by beset by grief and loss as she was.
-The Dalai Lama On New Year's Eve, 1997, Bob McIntosh left his family and friends at the dinner table to check on a disturbance at a neighbor's house. He never came home. Savagely beaten by an unknown assailant, McIntosh died that night at a local hospital, leaving behind his wife and twin four-year olds. While authorities searched for McIntosh's killer, his wife, author Katy Hutchison, began the slow process of rebuilding a life for her children and herself. Refusing to be defined by her husband's murder, she moved to a different town, pursued a new career, and eventually remarried--but, with questions about her husband's death still unanswered, the healing Hutchison longed for was slow in coming. In the spring of 2002, authorities arrested a young man named Ryan Aldrigde for the murder of Bob McIntosh. On hearing the news, Hutchison startled investigators by asking to meet the man who had killed her husband. She didn't take satisfaction in seeing Aldridge in custody, nor did she want to rail against him for the harm he had inflicted on her and her family. Instead, she wanted to learn from him why he had attacked McIntosh and what she could do to help stop incidents like it from happening again. In a letter she sent to Aldridge after his arrest, Hutchison offered this remarkable All I want for you is what you took from Bob--a happy and productive life. Walking After Midnight tells a story at turns devastating and triumphant, a unique exploration of one woman's courageous response to tragedy that challenges our expectations about grief and loss. It's an inspiring account of the power of forgiveness, compassion, and a different kind of justice. An excellent primer for handling loss with intelligence and dignity…an antidote to the endless cycles of violence that consume too many lives and too many countries.
-Frederic Luskin, Ph.D., author of Forgive for Good and director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Projects A remarkable story of tragedy and transcendence. Not everyone who walks this road will make the choices Hutchison did, but all will recognize the intersections and obstacles she encounters along the way. And no one who reads this story can dismiss the authenticity and passion with which it is told.
-Howard Zehr, founding theorist of restorative justice, professor of restorative justice at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding of Eastern Mennonite University and author of Changing Lenses

Genres: Memoir, True Crime, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Biography

296 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Steven Walle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent read. A true story of courage, strength, and incredible power of forgivness. The author sets a great example we all would do well to follow. I recommend this book to all who are of faith.
Enjoy and Be Blessed.
Diamond

[Rocklynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't decide whether to give this book 3 or 4 stars. I "really liked it", but also had some reservations about certain aspects of the telling of the story. The book offers a powerful story of facing trauma (the brutal, albiet unintended murder of the author's husband), and pulling through with forgiveness. The concept of restorative justice speaks profoundly to me, and I felt truly moved and inspired by Katy Hutchinson's story. Though I sped through the book on the power of the story and the compelling topic of moving beyond violence, there were some things about the book that annoyed me: the description of their pre-tragedy lives as story book perfect, the fact that she continually portrays Bob (her husband) as a golden boy, and a subtle but persistent assumption of privilege... "this kind of thing should not happen to nice well-off white people." I would have appreciated a more nuanced, three dimensional picture of their lives, a cracking open the veneer of perfection; just as she shows that the perpetrator of a crime does not need to be defined by their act, so might we recognize that everyone has shades of light and dark in their nature. What the book did is deepen my interest in the concept of restorative justice.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspiring read for sure. I was hoping for more info on restorative justice -- history, model, methods, etc -- it was mainly memoir. It nearly made me cry on the skytrain a few times.

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely give a book 10/10, but this is one. It's an absolutely gripping true story of how a woman and her children not only survived the murder of their husband and father, but found a way to forgive the young man and turn the tragedy into an incredible story of love, forgiveness, and hope for the thousands of people, especially young people, who have heard Katy and Ryan (the young man who murdered her husband) speak over the years. On page 238 Katy says " The research done by Community Justice Initiatives in British Columbia shows that 95 percent of offenders who meet with their victims do not reoffend."

[Anne Vandenbrink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katy and Bob had a houseful of friends celebrating New Years Eve. A few doors down, another neighbor's teenage son was also having a party while his parents were gone and it was getting loud and out of hand. Bob went over to quiet things down and never came home. He was murdered. Katy was a widow with 4 year old twins. This is her story of how she survived. The 5 year investigation to find the murderer, her forgiveness, and using the story of Bob's life and death to speak to teenagers in schools and other groups about social responsibility and restorative justice.

[Alessandra Nogueira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Causa um misto de sensações o mergulho no perdão genuíno ao assassino do seu marido. Livro acolhedor e de pura redenção.

[Linda Fidler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent story. It made my heart hurt! She somehow managed to forgive her husband's murderer.

[Caroline Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! A book about restorative justice, telling a true story. the subtitle says it all. It's a good, thought-provoking story, well-told.

[Selene Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riveting.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

An honest (almost TMI territory) memoir of a family struck by violence and restored to health by forgiveness and a lack of revenge. The author provides a bold statement on behalf of victims who don't fit preconceived notions. She didn't get angry or vengeful when a stupid kid did a cruel, stupid thing and killed her husband. She didn't play to the cameras with protests of the five-year sentence. She instead sought to help others by telling kids about the perils of substance abuse. And then she roped her husband's killer into her speeches. It's enough to make lots of people uncomfortable, and that's OK. So long as they accept a reality different from the one they assume for every victim. The story could have been told effectively at half the length, but all in all it's a worth contribution to the literature of restorative justice.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bob McIntosh a lawyer and avid runner, was murdered New Year's Eve 1997 in Squamish BC. He was survived by his wife Kate ( author of the book) and 4 year old twins.
She moved, remarried, and spent years searching for the murderer, who was an angry nineteen-year-old at the time of the crime. Eventually the young man was found and brought to justice.
Once the murderer was apprehended, Hutchinson realized that he was a victim of his own circumstances and wanted to seek help, rather than punishment. Together, they spearheaded a campaign promoting restorative justice as they speak internationally in prisons and schools, advocating change.
Hutchinson narrates this true story with brutal honesty and without refraining from the details of the murder and its aftermath.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was like eating pancakes with way too much syrup poured over them. Way too idealistic for me.

[Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am amazing story of forgiveness.

[Ruth Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was provided this book by a friend who is an advocate of restorative justice. Really interesting and impactful read, a topic I had not thought much about.

[Laurie platt]

Received a signed bookplate from the author.