I liked it and the concept - a book focusing on the victims and they coped and survived some terrible mass murderers - was fresh and interesting. However, someone - are there no editors anymore? - needed to restructure this book to give it better flow. The author jumps from case to case with no rhyme or reason; there is no way of figuring out what is the theme. They are not organized by date or severity...not even alphabetically...it's kind of like it was just randomly tossed into a pile and however they landed.
Aside from that, the book seemed to be well-researched and the author noted that he did attempt to interview those involved where possible. There were 10 cases included here starting in the late 40s and going up to the early 2000s.
Included are:
Survivor Charles Cohen of the spree killer Howard Unruh who in 1949 killed 13 people in 12 minutes, including Charles' mother, father and grandmother. Charles was 12 and his mother hid him in a closet as Unruh entered their downstairs pharmacy and then came up to the family's living area. Unruh went up and down this neighborhood killing children and businessmen, people in cars. Cohen was sent to live with relatives and buried this deep inside. He never spoke of this to his family, until Unruh who had been sent to a maximum security mental institution asked to be sent to a lesser treatment center to prepare him to be released. Cohen then became a crusader, determined that his suffering and that of the other families be publicized. He succeeded in keeping Unruh in a mental asylum until his death.
Survivor Brent Doonan of the Atlanta Day-Trader Shooting in 1999 that killed 9 people (and the killer also murdered his wife and 2 kids, bringing his total to 12) and wounded 7 others. Doonan lost almost 7 pints of blood from his wounds but pulled through. He left his job and Atlanta and went back to his family's business in Kansas, but found his choice was to move past it and find his peace.
Survivor Keith Thomas of the California McDonald's Massacre in 1984 that killed 21 and wounded 19 others. Thomas was a young boy of 12 when he survived this but watched his best friend Mateo and Mateo's mother killed. He did not get help in dealing with this and became troubled, turning to gangs, drugs, and violence. There wasn't really anyone that knew about children and PTSD at the time and by the time it was recognized he was severely damaged. It took many years - and this young man's life took further downturns - jail, rehabs, living on the street. But he has finally emerged on the other side - back to school, sober, recovered. He has moved on with his life.
Survivor Suzanna Hupp of the Luby's Massacre in 1991 that killed 23 and wounded 27 others. Among the dead were Suzanna's mother and father who were there with her eating lunch. Suzanna had left her gun in the car because Texas law at the time was that you could not carry into businesses. Afterwards, Suzanna was elected to the state legislature and lobbied to change this law to allow for concealed carry. [It was noted that "Killeen lost twice as many citizens to the Luby's killing than to the brief Gulf War ...almost nineteen years later...Nidal Malik Hasan would open fire with two handguns on soldiers just after lunch at Fort Hood, killing 13 and wounding at least 30 in Killeen's second mass murder in 2 decades."]
Survivor Tim Ursin of the Howard Johnson Sniper (1973) who killed 9 people and wounded 12 others in New Orleans in 2 separate attacks. Ursin was a firefighter attempting to rescue people from the hotel when the sniper fired on him wounding him. He would eventually lose part of his arm. He became a fishing charter operator - under the name Captain Hook. "He wants only to live without the hate that consumed the man who tried to kill him for no better reason that the color of his skin."
Survivor Roland Ehlke of the Texas Tower Sniper (1966) who killed 17 (one died years later of their wounds) and wounded 31 in 90 minutes. Ehlke was wounded but none were serious. He had been going to do 2 years in the Peace Corps but decided to return to Wisconsin and started seminary.
Survivor Dianne Alexander of the serial killer Derrick Todd Lee who murdered at least 7 women in the Baton Rouge area in the 1990s to early 2000s. She was the only (known) survivor of his attacks - her son came home during his attack and she had cooperated with him father than fighting him. She did move on with her life but she had to sell the house where she was attacked. She did have PTSD with anger and depression, but sought comfort in her faith.
Survivor Anthony Majzer of serial killer David Maust who had at least 5 known victims, mostly young teens. Anthony was a felon who was almost another victim of Maust, but managed to get away. He was paroled in 2005 and has been clean for several years, started a family, and working at a trade. He is trying to find a better life for himself.
Survivor Missy Jenkins of the West Paducah High School shooting in 1997 that killed 3 and injured 5. Missy was paralyzed after she was shot. She used her fame to talk about the shooting and its aftermath and forgiveness. She was also the recipient of a new high-tech brace that could help paraplegics walk and was able to walk in her graduation in June 2000. She has spoke in the Million Mom March against gun violence, and in 2004 got a degree in social work so she could work with troubled teens.
Survivor Terry Jo Duperrault of the Bluebelle Murders in 1961. The captain of the Bluebelle - Julian Harvey - appeared to be a serial murderer of his wives in addition to the Bluebelle murders. Terry Jo was the sole survivor of the week long cruise in the Bahamas with her family. She was adrift on the open ocean for almost 4 days when found. She was returned to her remaining family but received no counseling or other help. The family basically ignored this entire event and she lost a huge chunk of her childhood, her siblings, her mother, and the father that she adored. One positive that came - almost immediately from this - was the change of boats' life-saving equipment to bright orange to be more visible.
Ten cases and so many ways to deal with tragedy. The human mind and spirit are so resilient.