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The Events of October": Murder-Suicide on a Small Campus
On a Sunday night during Homecoming weekend in 1999, Neenef Odah lured his ex-girlfriend, Maggie Wardle, to his dorm room at Kalamazoo College and killed her at close range with a shotgun before killing himself. In the wake of this tragedy, the community of the small, idyllic liberal arts college struggled to characterize the incident, which was even called "the events of October" in a campus memo. In this engaging and intimate examination of Maggie and Neenef's deaths, author and Kalamazoo College professor Gail Griffin attempts to answer the lingering question of "how could this happen?" to two seemingly normal students on such a close-knit campus.
Griffin introduces readers to Maggie and Neenef―a bright and athletic local girl and the quiet Iraqi-American computer student―and retraces their relationship from multiple perspectives, including those of their friends, teachers, and classmates. She examines the tension that built between Maggie and Neenef as his demands for more of her time and emotional support grew, eventually leading to their breakup. After the deaths take place, Griffin presents multiple reactions, including those of Maggie's friends who were waiting for her to return from Neenef's room, the students who heard the shotgun blasts in the hallway of Neenef's dorm, the president who struggled to guide a grieving campus, and the facilities manager in charge of cleaning up the crime scene. Griffin also uses Maggie and Neenef's story to explore larger issues of intimate partner violence, gun accessibility, and depression and suicide on campus as she attempts to understand the lasting importance of their tragic deaths.
Griffin's use of source material, including college documents, official police reports, Neenef's suicide note, and an instant message record between perpetrator and victim, puts a very real face on issues of violence against women. Readers interested in true crime, gender studies, and the culture of colleges and universities will appreciate "The Events of October."
Griffin introduces readers to Maggie and Neenef―a bright and athletic local girl and the quiet Iraqi-American computer student―and retraces their relationship from multiple perspectives, including those of their friends, teachers, and classmates. She examines the tension that built between Maggie and Neenef as his demands for more of her time and emotional support grew, eventually leading to their breakup. After the deaths take place, Griffin presents multiple reactions, including those of Maggie's friends who were waiting for her to return from Neenef's room, the students who heard the shotgun blasts in the hallway of Neenef's dorm, the president who struggled to guide a grieving campus, and the facilities manager in charge of cleaning up the crime scene. Griffin also uses Maggie and Neenef's story to explore larger issues of intimate partner violence, gun accessibility, and depression and suicide on campus as she attempts to understand the lasting importance of their tragic deaths.
Griffin's use of source material, including college documents, official police reports, Neenef's suicide note, and an instant message record between perpetrator and victim, puts a very real face on issues of violence against women. Readers interested in true crime, gender studies, and the culture of colleges and universities will appreciate "The Events of October."
336 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
September 19, 2014
This book is essentially impossible for me to rate or review in a traditional sense. I can take about six steps back and say this is an important work, it's a well-written work, and it's the kind of thing everyone, particularly people who work with young people, should read.
I can't rate it or review it traditionally, though, because I lived it. This was my campus, where I was an RA in the dorm next door and knew nearly every single name that appears on these pages, if not personally, than to pick out of a crowd. I put off reading this book for a long time because I was afraid of it. When I finally sat down and read it, I read it in desperate, almost fearful chunks, frequently putting it down to think or cry. What honestly shocked me most was how little I remember about the months following. My recollections of my sophomore year seem to have gaping holes, in part because it seems impossible to recognize that what I do recall of that year also occurred at the same time as we were all living in a weird kind of shell-shock. Time stretches and shifts; I have photos of a Halloween party that I'm pretty sure was less than two weeks after the murder-suicide, but how is that even possible?
To say I finished the book and experienced closure is pat and not true. I did experience a sense of forgiveness and love toward my twenty-year-old self and all of the rest of us, struggling with the aftermath. I felt stronger in my ability that's slowly (very slowly) grown over the past fifteen years to place this experience in the greater context of violence against women.
But I don't feel anything as simple and comfortable as closure.
I can't rate it or review it traditionally, though, because I lived it. This was my campus, where I was an RA in the dorm next door and knew nearly every single name that appears on these pages, if not personally, than to pick out of a crowd. I put off reading this book for a long time because I was afraid of it. When I finally sat down and read it, I read it in desperate, almost fearful chunks, frequently putting it down to think or cry. What honestly shocked me most was how little I remember about the months following. My recollections of my sophomore year seem to have gaping holes, in part because it seems impossible to recognize that what I do recall of that year also occurred at the same time as we were all living in a weird kind of shell-shock. Time stretches and shifts; I have photos of a Halloween party that I'm pretty sure was less than two weeks after the murder-suicide, but how is that even possible?
To say I finished the book and experienced closure is pat and not true. I did experience a sense of forgiveness and love toward my twenty-year-old self and all of the rest of us, struggling with the aftermath. I felt stronger in my ability that's slowly (very slowly) grown over the past fifteen years to place this experience in the greater context of violence against women.
But I don't feel anything as simple and comfortable as closure.
October 13, 2010
This book haunted me. This is my second Gail Griffin book, and I knew, of course, that she was a good writer. But at first, this book wasn't particularly strong in its prose styling. It came across as journalism, personalized journalism to be sure, but not very deftly worded. But as the story went on, Gail's unmistakable gifts as a writer became more prominent. And from the start, her deep humanism shown through. She has sympathy for everyone here, even the murderer, and especially for the murderer's friends and family. She is relentless self-critical, challenging her own contemporaneous actions and views.
As a minor player in this horrible tragedy, who was one of Maggie's professors at the moment of her death, I will never forget that October. Gail brings back those wrenching days and weeks with crystalline clarity.
I wonder if this book will strike those unaffiliated with K College with as much intensity as it did me. My guess, unfortunately, is no. Gail, because of her deep and abiding compassion, spends far too much time on each bit player in the administration, which will end up boring readers who don't know these players. A popular book has to focus more, streamline reality to its vital core. Gail also doesn't go far enough in criticizing some. I too remember being deeply disappointed with President Jones's initial inability to label this gender violence. I am and was a huge fan of Jones, so the lapse was all the more surprising. I remember using popular songs to convey to my shell-shocked students how ubiquitous gender violence is in our culture. (Gail also does this, better than I).
Still, anyone interested in gender violence, particularly in the college context, will get much from this book. Sections of the prose are just glorious, too.
As a minor player in this horrible tragedy, who was one of Maggie's professors at the moment of her death, I will never forget that October. Gail brings back those wrenching days and weeks with crystalline clarity.
I wonder if this book will strike those unaffiliated with K College with as much intensity as it did me. My guess, unfortunately, is no. Gail, because of her deep and abiding compassion, spends far too much time on each bit player in the administration, which will end up boring readers who don't know these players. A popular book has to focus more, streamline reality to its vital core. Gail also doesn't go far enough in criticizing some. I too remember being deeply disappointed with President Jones's initial inability to label this gender violence. I am and was a huge fan of Jones, so the lapse was all the more surprising. I remember using popular songs to convey to my shell-shocked students how ubiquitous gender violence is in our culture. (Gail also does this, better than I).
Still, anyone interested in gender violence, particularly in the college context, will get much from this book. Sections of the prose are just glorious, too.
November 1, 2010
This is actually more of a sociological study than your typical true crime book. The crime took place at K College, a highly respected college only 45 minutes away from where I live.
It was intriguing to read of the faculty members' reactions to the crime, the political aspects of how to view it (was it a tragedy or violence against women), how to comfort friends of the perpetrator, and the effect it had upon close friends of the couple.
Actual text messages from days and weeks preceding the crime make for painful reading, as the victim fails to react with alarm about the desperate quality of texts from her eventual killer.
It's actually an old story. Women's inborn nurturing instinct overwhelms their reason as they attempt to "save" or "understand" their killers.
It was intriguing to read of the faculty members' reactions to the crime, the political aspects of how to view it (was it a tragedy or violence against women), how to comfort friends of the perpetrator, and the effect it had upon close friends of the couple.
Actual text messages from days and weeks preceding the crime make for painful reading, as the victim fails to react with alarm about the desperate quality of texts from her eventual killer.
It's actually an old story. Women's inborn nurturing instinct overwhelms their reason as they attempt to "save" or "understand" their killers.
July 13, 2020
This terribly tragic story tells about a murder-suicide on a private college just down the street from where I went to university. It happened, when I was in middle school and I had no idea about it until I stumbled across this book at my favorite bookstore in the world, Kazoo Books. I'm so glad I found this book because it carefully set the plot describing Kalamazoo College with vivid descriptions, laid out the characters, and began telling the story about the warning signs and conflicts prior to the murder. The second part of the book explained how the college recovered from the tragedy and the impact it had on the students. The parents of the girl who was murdered support this book in hopes that people will recognize the warning signs of individuals who are hurting and take the necessary steps. This book would be an excellent read for anyone, but it was especially interesting to me because I have been to Kalamazoo College before and know the area very well. Such a well written book! https://youtu.be/wdTwQR7ETUI
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September 19, 2013This book helped shape my perspective on violence against women and helped me understand an extremely powerful event that took place on my college's campus over 10 years ago.
Hard to read because the contents are horrifying, but well worth it.
Highly recommended.
Hard to read because the contents are horrifying, but well worth it.
Highly recommended.
July 7, 2017
This covers the murder/suicide of a couple of young students at Kalamazoo College. Although their friends did not know the danger at the time, there were plenty of warning signs leading to this hrorendous crime. Very good read for women's studies, abuse of women, etc.
October 14, 2018
An unsettling read, not only because it was about the hideous deaths of two K College students who were killed for no good reason, but because most of the book -- and most of the people named in the book -- struggled mainly with what political framework to fit the killings into. Apparently, the author, who set up the women's studies program at K, could not separate herself from the college well enough to just let her feelings come out as they would naturally. Sad! On the other hand, the people involved in the story were well-drawn and felt very real as I read.
October 27, 2014
Especially poignant for me, given I am an alumna of this college and I have just returned from my own 40th reunion. Well written and researched, the fiber of this tragedy left me speechless and saddened. Though the horrific murder/suicide occurred in 1999 and the book published in 2009, I hadn't heard about this until now. Aside from the story itself, there is much information about violence against women in society at large and on college campuses.
June 16, 2013
I was first drawn to this book because it concerns the college where I spent my freshman year, and also because it was written by my academic advisor at the time, but what drew me in was Griffin's compelling narrative and analysis of the 1999 murder of student Maggie Wardle by her ex-boyfriend Neenef Odah with a hunting rifle, and his subsequent suicide. Far from being a salacious true crime story, Griffin frames this event with an examination of male violence against women.
In addition to detailing possible causes and warning signs, Griffin, an award-winning poet, essayist, and a diehard feminist, writes of her efforts to make the campus safer for women, and of the resistance she encountered from administrators, fellow faculty members, and students, many of whom were friends of Odah. Shortly after "the events of October," many were quick to focus upon gun control, or Odah's cultural background, however Griffin reminds us that in American society, the greatest danger for most women is a spouse or an intimate acquaintance armed with a gun. Women are killed by men every day. The greater tragedy is that few seem to think that things could be any different.
In addition to detailing possible causes and warning signs, Griffin, an award-winning poet, essayist, and a diehard feminist, writes of her efforts to make the campus safer for women, and of the resistance she encountered from administrators, fellow faculty members, and students, many of whom were friends of Odah. Shortly after "the events of October," many were quick to focus upon gun control, or Odah's cultural background, however Griffin reminds us that in American society, the greatest danger for most women is a spouse or an intimate acquaintance armed with a gun. Women are killed by men every day. The greater tragedy is that few seem to think that things could be any different.
September 7, 2011
I was drawn to this book for two reasons: 1. The author is one of my favorite professors from my undergraduate years, and 2. I was a few weeks into my freshman year at Kalamazoo College (the small campus of the title) when these events transpired. That I can directly recall many of the events in the book and know many of the people interviewed made it especially poignant for me. Even with my obvious biases for this book, I found it to be a very engaging and fascinating account of a profoundly sad, yet unfortunately common, instance of extreme domestic violence. Griffin did an especially good job not only describing and examining the murder-suicide and the time around it, but also framing it in a larger societal context. Really, I believe even those with no connection to the event will find this interesting for both the vivid account and the examination of its larger implications.
November 8, 2019
I was on the security staff at Kalamazoo College when this incident occurred, so most of the details outlined in this book match what I remember. It took nearly 20 years for me to be able to revisit that whole period and all of the things that were going on behind the scenes then, and I was grateful for the opportunity to clear up some of the unknowns that I have wondered about for so many years. As to be expected, there's more to this story than what was written, but that's not the fault of the author.
Ultimately, I felt like the book was very well done. Each time I read it I find something new to think about, and it encourages me to continue examining the issues that it raises.
Ultimately, I felt like the book was very well done. Each time I read it I find something new to think about, and it encourages me to continue examining the issues that it raises.
March 4, 2021
Living in Kalamazoo, I had heard about this book and essentially, 'the events of October' that happened at a college down the street from where I attended my graduate program. While it's hard to say that you "loved" a book regarding murder-suicide, I am giving this book 5 stars because of the anaylsis and critical lens the author (who was also a professor at the college and director of women's studies) used continually throughout the reading. While the instant messaging between Maggie and Neenef was difficult to read, I especially appreciated the detailed summary breaking down the meaning of each exchange. The book really brings to light violence against women while trying to discover "how" and "why" a murder-suicide could have happened on a small campus.
August 26, 2021
This book is devastating. Haunting. It will stick with me forever. Such a tragic, violent event that happened way too close to home. Although I initially didn’t care for the investigative reporting style, I had trouble putting the book down.
May 11, 2011
Overall I liked the book...there was a bit too much about debate whether it was a Femicide/murder-suicide/domestic abuse etc. for my liking. It seemed to me like the author was trying to push her agenda, rather than giving the reader the facts of what happened. All of that portion was hard to read (boring) and slowed the pace of the book.
November 29, 2022
This happened at my college the year after I graduated. It happened in my favorite dorm building, just down the hall from my former room. The perpetrator was someone I had worked with in a group project in one of my classes that final quarter before graduation.
When we got the email from the college about this incident happening, I was shocked and heartbroken. When I saw the name of those involved, I couldn't reconcile the crime that had happened with the very lively and smart person I had met just a year before.
Even though it is so many years later, when I recently found out this book existed, I wanted to take a deeper look into the event. This book was very detailed about the events leading up to the incident and the fall-out in the weeks and months following without being exploitative. And I think it is a very valuable guide to anyone experiencing a similar type of relationship. I 100% agree that the most dangerous time for anyone trying to regain autonomy of themselves in a controlling relationship is during the "leaving."
This should be a must-read for all young adults.
When we got the email from the college about this incident happening, I was shocked and heartbroken. When I saw the name of those involved, I couldn't reconcile the crime that had happened with the very lively and smart person I had met just a year before.
Even though it is so many years later, when I recently found out this book existed, I wanted to take a deeper look into the event. This book was very detailed about the events leading up to the incident and the fall-out in the weeks and months following without being exploitative. And I think it is a very valuable guide to anyone experiencing a similar type of relationship. I 100% agree that the most dangerous time for anyone trying to regain autonomy of themselves in a controlling relationship is during the "leaving."
This should be a must-read for all young adults.
July 8, 2022
I’ve wanted to read this book for a LONG time but was also avoiding it at the same time. I knew it would be well written but might also be emotional and change how I feel about a wonderful time in my life at this special school. Gail was one of my most influential professors those 4 years at K. She pushed me over and over to be a better writer and I can’t thank her enough for that. I wasn’t there during the timeframe that the story takes place but having lived there for 4 years and knowing many of the people in the book, it was a chilling read. It did make me sad to realize that even after so much effort was made to try to raise awareness to ultimately protect women, nothing permanent came of that effort. I agree with other reviewers that not having a connection to the school might make the book not as interesting but I am glad that I finally read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2025
I've wanted to read this book for some time, as someone who was working at the college (also my alma mater) when this happened. Griffin does an excellent job portraying both the horror and grief on a personal level, and the big-picture context that such violence has. Worth a read for anyone, but especially those wanting to understand women's experiences and the role of guns in America.
February 21, 2021
A difficult read, but an extremely important one.
November 21, 2021
A powerfully moving examination of tragic events that, despite their separation in terms of time and distance, connect to the here and now.
July 28, 2020
A somewhat dry and scholarly look at a murder suicide on a college campus. I think it suffered from the fact that the family of perpetrator didn’t participate in book, so what we end up with is a lot of speculation on the role of patriarchal dominance and expectation he had placed on him. We hear “his father was demanding and abusive” many times throughout the book but there is nothing concrete to add nuance to this perspective. What about his mother? Siblings? His childhood?
The author chooses to frame this from a feminist perspective, and I wondered if she had been a scholar of Middle Eastern culture how this would have changed the book. Once we get past the nitty gritty of “events of October,” it seems to me the book flails a bit. Lots of hand wringing. Why didn’t we see? What can we do to prevent it from happening again?
Cynically, since I’ve worked for a college and in higher education administration, I recognized a lot of the scrambling by the administration after the event to be, “how can we keep our liability in this event to an absolute minimum?” What if students stop enrolling? It reminded me of a personal experience: we had a student die who had been on academic probation (to continue to be enrolled they had to get tutoring.) I worked as a part of the tutoring unit. (Most of these students clearly didn’t want to be in school, resented the required tutoring, and were only there because it enabled them to stay on their parents’ health insurance.) The director of student affairs was down in the tutoring center first thing that morning after the student died, to see if we had sent the student a letter about noncompliance or expulsion that may have caused a suicide. I’ll never forget that first and foremost on the minds of the administrators was CYA. In the end, we learned the student had died of an undiagnosed medical issue. I think this speaks the central mythology of higher education; one the author doesn’t acknowledge in her book. This being that:
Colleges and universities want to project that they truly care about students and their outcomes but much of their concern lies in the advancement of their own careers, collecting tuition and fees, and worry about their continued funding, ratings, and appearance in the world of higher ed. It’s a business like any other -- cold and data driven, exploitative in a way because of the power imbalance between professor/administrator and student, but cloaked in a robe of smiles, youth, hope, expectation, and a community belonging experience.
The author also chose to draw conclusions about Maggie and her personality and interior life early in the book that I know I would have resented if such conclusions had been drawn about me at that point in my life. Her persistence in labeling Maggie as a geek and nerd was rather insulting, as though intense interest in a subject automatically renders you a fool in some way. Maggie also, as many young murdered women are, is posthumously painted as the most friendly, warm, promising, pretty, happy women with nary a flaw.
It’s a sobering lesson in the worst that can happen to young people just starting out into adulthood.
The author chooses to frame this from a feminist perspective, and I wondered if she had been a scholar of Middle Eastern culture how this would have changed the book. Once we get past the nitty gritty of “events of October,” it seems to me the book flails a bit. Lots of hand wringing. Why didn’t we see? What can we do to prevent it from happening again?
Cynically, since I’ve worked for a college and in higher education administration, I recognized a lot of the scrambling by the administration after the event to be, “how can we keep our liability in this event to an absolute minimum?” What if students stop enrolling? It reminded me of a personal experience: we had a student die who had been on academic probation (to continue to be enrolled they had to get tutoring.) I worked as a part of the tutoring unit. (Most of these students clearly didn’t want to be in school, resented the required tutoring, and were only there because it enabled them to stay on their parents’ health insurance.) The director of student affairs was down in the tutoring center first thing that morning after the student died, to see if we had sent the student a letter about noncompliance or expulsion that may have caused a suicide. I’ll never forget that first and foremost on the minds of the administrators was CYA. In the end, we learned the student had died of an undiagnosed medical issue. I think this speaks the central mythology of higher education; one the author doesn’t acknowledge in her book. This being that:
Colleges and universities want to project that they truly care about students and their outcomes but much of their concern lies in the advancement of their own careers, collecting tuition and fees, and worry about their continued funding, ratings, and appearance in the world of higher ed. It’s a business like any other -- cold and data driven, exploitative in a way because of the power imbalance between professor/administrator and student, but cloaked in a robe of smiles, youth, hope, expectation, and a community belonging experience.
The author also chose to draw conclusions about Maggie and her personality and interior life early in the book that I know I would have resented if such conclusions had been drawn about me at that point in my life. Her persistence in labeling Maggie as a geek and nerd was rather insulting, as though intense interest in a subject automatically renders you a fool in some way. Maggie also, as many young murdered women are, is posthumously painted as the most friendly, warm, promising, pretty, happy women with nary a flaw.
It’s a sobering lesson in the worst that can happen to young people just starting out into adulthood.
June 7, 2021
This is the only time in my life i was connected,albeit distantly to a murder/suicide. I was the roommate of Neenef's cousin at WMU and i met neenef occasionally. Hence my experience with him was rather limited.
Looks like i didnt know a lot of things,He met me for the last time shortly before the events transpired. I could see something was off...for the first time i saw him with a beard and there was some sadness about him..i was more interested in getting my loaned books back(the books never came back) but never in a million years i expected murder and suicide shortly thereafter.
he only ever said one line about the "cool girl friend"...so i have nothing to add to their story,Most of the conversations were about iraq and america..
I only first met him four months earlier and then he looked like a casual fun loving asian american guy living the american ream and destined for a good career.who would have thought he would shoot himself barely four months later?
This book was the story he never told me in our irregular meetings.The facts and data points regarding abusive relationships and murder of women were the most interesting part.
Women are in most danger when a relationship ends badly...not hard to see why.
Looks like i didnt know a lot of things,He met me for the last time shortly before the events transpired. I could see something was off...for the first time i saw him with a beard and there was some sadness about him..i was more interested in getting my loaned books back(the books never came back) but never in a million years i expected murder and suicide shortly thereafter.
he only ever said one line about the "cool girl friend"...so i have nothing to add to their story,Most of the conversations were about iraq and america..
I only first met him four months earlier and then he looked like a casual fun loving asian american guy living the american ream and destined for a good career.who would have thought he would shoot himself barely four months later?
This book was the story he never told me in our irregular meetings.The facts and data points regarding abusive relationships and murder of women were the most interesting part.
Women are in most danger when a relationship ends badly...not hard to see why.
January 5, 2012
I just read this book and I can't give it 5 stars only because of the subject matter. It's hard to say you LOVED LOVED a book when it is about murder/suicide on a college campus. I found this book to be gripping and fascinating and deeply disturbing. It attempts to analyze how and why such a thing could happen, and puts this specific instance of violence into the larger context of femicide/violence against women. I found myself wondering what the author could possibly have to say in the second half of the book, after the murder/suicide had occurred. I almost put the book down and am so glad I didn't! The discussion of the impact on the campus community and the statistical information related to violence against women and the men who commit such violence was revealing and horrifying and should be required reading for every woman. I have a son heading off to college in the fall and a teenaged daughter and intend to have both children read this. Hats off to the author for tackling such a tough topic and keeping it real.
August 1, 2019
Toward the end of the book Griffin wonders whether K students still remember "The Events of October." Having lived in the same residence hall 15 years later I can attest that they do, although she is correct that the exact room number is always a subject of disagreement. Like Hae Min Lee's murder in Serial, which actually happened earlier the same year, this is a true crime story of ex-boyfriends and young women suffering violent deaths. In typical Kalamazoo College fashion the story is interpreted heavily through a women's studies lens, which although I felt overstated in some parts was enlightening and valuable.
November 7, 2017
The author Gail Griffin does a masterful job of taking the reader through these horrible events and helps us to see what led up to that awful night in October and its aftermath. This book is an excellent read for anyone who wants to know more about violence against women AND for those who want to understand how unthinkable things happen in unexpected places. If you haven't read this yet, do-- it's very relevant now as we try to grasp the tragedy of the recent killings in Texas tied to domestic violence.
March 31, 2011
The story about the murder-suicide at Kalamazoo College in 1999. It gives a good idea of what a young man went through, trying to please his father, who came here from the middle east and fit in at a small, private college. He becomes obsessed with his girlfriend and after they break up,he kills her and himself. the author, who is a professor of English, tries to explore partner violence, gun accessibility and depression and suicide on campus.
I found it quite interesting.
I found it quite interesting.
June 24, 2016
Gail Griffin is an extraordinarily gifted writer and scholar. In "The Events of October," she turns her lens on the multiple ways a murder-suicide involves domestic abuse and violence against women, which is codified in American society. This is a fascinating book, and I could not put it down. Griffin conveys all aspects of these horrific events with compassion and eloquence and analysis. This would be a fantastic book to teach in a creative nonfiction, literature, or Comp course.
February 18, 2011
This book was a tough subject matter and hard at times to read without cringing, but so well written. I loved the style in which Gail Griffin used to document this horrific incident. I called my own 14 year old daughter several times to listen to certain passages, hoping that she can begin to learn now, before she starts dating, the warning signs in men she should be aware of.
July 4, 2016
What an excellent book. I found myself crying through a good half of it. It was recommended to me by a friend who runs domestic abuse programs in Austin, Texas. She knew I went to K College, and urged me to give it a read. I'm so glad I did. It is a beautifully written, compelling story, as well as an informed, critical analysis of, "the why of it all."
March 21, 2016
A combination of cultural bias against women and violence against women, this is the true story of the murder of Maggie Wardle, K College sophomore, by Neenef Odah, K College junior, who then committed suicide. Many details from their lives are here, and it is a sobering story. I never knew about femicide or how pervasive domestic violence is.
July 31, 2010
Author interview and book review with Gail Griffin in The Smoking Poet's Fall 2010 Issue, online in mid September 2010.
www.thesmokingpoet.com
www.thesmokingpoet.com
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