A review by carrix2
The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir, by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
5.0
This was an incredibly powerful book, and for me, an incredibly personal journey. It tells the story of a woman, herself a victim of long-term sexual assault in childhood, who enters the practice of law, and is faced with a child molester and murderer on death row. She staunchly opposed the death penalty, but in the moment she sees this man, she immediately wants him to die. She leaves the law and never looks back, knowing that she cannot be impartial as she would need to be. Her past defines her in a very deep and unextractable way. Instead, she becomes obsessed with him story, his background, what drives him, who he is. And herein she tells his story as well as her own.
This book made me address my own trauma and the intricate, infinite ways in which I am molded by it. The abuse itself, the way my own family reacted to it, custody battles and subsequent step-parents, my issues with my parents and how that molded me as a mother. How I still can be triggered by PTSD 40 years later.
I had never heard of this book, but I chose it because of a reading challenge on Goodreads - to read a pair of books with opposite words in the titles. I was reading [b:A Beautiful Mind|13912|A Beautiful Mind|Sylvia Nasar|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347807703l/13912._SY75_.jpg|2561274] for a book club, so I planned to read [b:The Three-Body Problem|20518872|The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1)|Liu Cixin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415428227l/20518872._SY75_.jpg|25696480] and use mind/body as my opposites. I listen to audiobooks at work, so I started the audio of The Three-Body Problem and was quickly lost in the complex narrative. I searched for other "body" books currently available from my library and began listening to [b:The Body Farm|6539|The Body Farm (Kay Scarpetta, #5)|Patricia Cornwell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389834053l/6539._SY75_.jpg|1454964] by a favorite author of mine from long ago. Turns out that narrator was horrible and I couldn't get past the first five minutes. Feeling frustrated, I landed on this book because I love thrillers and crime dramas. I did not know the nature of the crime or that it was true. I spent the next three days at work in a bit of a fog created by trauma, grief, guilt, depression, and anxiety.
As difficult as this was to process, it 100% was something I needed. I feel the need to write down my own stories, my memories, and especially something touched on in this book - what is "real" and what is merely presented as truth. When faced with multiple conflicting recollections, which, if any, are accurate? Or do we each choose reality to be that which feels correct? My reality is what I remember, whether it it accurate or not. My memories are what make me.
I think anyone interested in true crime will enjoy this book. Just be prepared for an intimate, detailed account of horrific abuse. It was hard for me to absorb. But it's an important story to tell.
This book made me address my own trauma and the intricate, infinite ways in which I am molded by it. The abuse itself, the way my own family reacted to it, custody battles and subsequent step-parents, my issues with my parents and how that molded me as a mother. How I still can be triggered by PTSD 40 years later.
I had never heard of this book, but I chose it because of a reading challenge on Goodreads - to read a pair of books with opposite words in the titles. I was reading [b:A Beautiful Mind|13912|A Beautiful Mind|Sylvia Nasar|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347807703l/13912._SY75_.jpg|2561274] for a book club, so I planned to read [b:The Three-Body Problem|20518872|The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1)|Liu Cixin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415428227l/20518872._SY75_.jpg|25696480] and use mind/body as my opposites. I listen to audiobooks at work, so I started the audio of The Three-Body Problem and was quickly lost in the complex narrative. I searched for other "body" books currently available from my library and began listening to [b:The Body Farm|6539|The Body Farm (Kay Scarpetta, #5)|Patricia Cornwell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389834053l/6539._SY75_.jpg|1454964] by a favorite author of mine from long ago. Turns out that narrator was horrible and I couldn't get past the first five minutes. Feeling frustrated, I landed on this book because I love thrillers and crime dramas. I did not know the nature of the crime or that it was true. I spent the next three days at work in a bit of a fog created by trauma, grief, guilt, depression, and anxiety.
As difficult as this was to process, it 100% was something I needed. I feel the need to write down my own stories, my memories, and especially something touched on in this book - what is "real" and what is merely presented as truth. When faced with multiple conflicting recollections, which, if any, are accurate? Or do we each choose reality to be that which feels correct? My reality is what I remember, whether it it accurate or not. My memories are what make me.
I think anyone interested in true crime will enjoy this book. Just be prepared for an intimate, detailed account of horrific abuse. It was hard for me to absorb. But it's an important story to tell.