Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America by Roxanna Asgarian

25 reviews

ameliasbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Roxanna Asgarian’s *We Were Once a Family* offers an affecting and comprehensive look into the tragic story of the Hart family murders while shining a light on the systemic failures of the U.S. child welfare system. Rather than sensationalizing the crime or focusing on the adoptive mothers, Asgarian turns her attention to the true victims—the six adopted children and their biological families, whose lives were torn apart long before the horrifying deaths occurred.

One of the book's greatest strengths is its focus on the broader issues underlying this tragedy. Asgarian critiques a broken system that fails to provide adequate support to vulnerable families, particularly those from marginalized communities. The child welfare system, she argues, is not designed to solve the root causes of poverty and instability but is instead driven by racial bias, with a prevalent "white savior" mentality. The biological families of the children, mostly people of color, were repeatedly failed by institutions that seemed more interested in removing children from their homes than in providing the resources that could keep those families intact.

For readers unfamiliar with the U.S. child welfare system—particularly European readers—the book can feel overwhelming in its detailed analysis. However, this depth of information is essential for an American audience that needs to fully understand the systemic issues at play. Asgarian doesn’t just point to individual failures but to a larger pattern of neglect and exploitation built into the system itself.

The book is as devastating as it is informative, highlighting the human cost of a system driven by racist policies and a desire for quick, often harmful solutions. The stories of the biological families are heartbreaking and paint a clear picture of how institutional racism and economic inequality intersect to create such tragedies.

However, the book is not without its minor flaws. At times, there is noticeable repetition of certain details, which can give the impression that some chapters were originally published as standalone magazine articles. If this was the case, the book could have benefited from tighter editing to smooth these transitions and avoid redundancy. Despite this, Asgarian’s journalistic rigor and passion for the subject matter shine through, making this a crucial read.

In conclusion this book is a powerful and eye-opening investigation into a deeply flawed child welfare system. Though difficult to digest at times, it is an essential work that sheds light on the need for reform and justice for the victims and their families.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism

cbemis's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Racism, and Suicide

jmicweber's review against another edition

emotional informative sad medium-paced

3.25

Roxanna Asgardian provides a heartfelt investigation that humanizes one of the worst crimes against children in recent memory. I appreciated how honest Roxanna was about how close she got with the families she interviewed. However, at times it seemed that she lost track of how extreme this case was: starting in Texas with an overtly racist judge and ending with mentally ill adoptive parents. I agree the system needs to change, but this book did not give much credit to the people dedicating their lives to changing it right now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness

booklovertamisha's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Miscarriage

oworthyfool's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Cultural appropriation

kayserroll's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Suicide

lady_grey_with_honey's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

4.5

This work of investigative journalism details the many failings of the American foster care system through the lens of a tragic murder-suicide carried out by 2 white parents, that killed them and their 6 adopted Black children. This book is really sad, but the issues that the author brings to light are well researched and so important. I highly recommend this book, but it of course comes with some significant trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Racism

handyj's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Suicide

Minor: Addiction, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, and Abandonment

hollydyer328's review

dark informative sad slow-paced

4.25

This is not a book that I usually read, but it was great investigative journalism done by Roxanna Asgarian. I thought she did a great job handling the case and recounting the stories of the birth families with sensitivity. This is a depiction not only of the tragic suicide-murder of the Hart family but also an exposing critique of the child welfare and foster system. There are parts that will definitely infuriate you and parts that will give you chills. I found myself glazing over the more legal explanations in the book. Overall, I’m glad that Asgarian was able to tell a more comprehensive story of this incident and honor the birth families in the process.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Suicide

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

sjanke2's review

challenging dark informative sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail