Stacey Lannert

Product Details

Pub. Date: March 2011
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Format: Hardcover , 336pp
Sales Rank: 43,717

ISBN-13: 9780307592132
ISBN: 0307592138

Summary provided by BN.com:
“When I decided to look, I found more love and compassion than I ever imagined existed. Most significantly, I found forgiveness. I might even call it redemption.”
On July 4, 1990, eighteen-year-old Stacey Lannert shot and killed her father, who had been sexually abusing her since she was eight. Missouri state law, a disbelieving prosecutor, and Stacey’s own fragile psyche conspired against her: She was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.
Redemption is Stacey’s candid memoir of her harrowing childhood and the pain and protective love of her sister that led her to that horrifying night. It is also an extraordinary portrait of what happened after she found herself in prison and how she grew determined to live positively, even triumphantly, despite her circumstances. Ultimately, and most profoundly, she learned the healing power of forgiveness.
After spending as many years in prison as she had out of it, on January 10, 2009, outgoing Missouri governor Matt Blunt commuted Stacey’s life sentence. Six days later she walked out of the gates a free woman.
Redemption is the story of how Stacey learned to be free while living behind bars. It is a coming-of-age story set in a parallel universe of a maximum-security prison. And, it is a story of sisterhood, courage, and justice finally served.
My Review:
I had been putting off reading this book for a while. I read some of the reviews from other Amazon Vine participants and realized that it wasn’t going to be about the healing, but mostly about the abuse that she went through to get to the point where she was now. As someone who has gone through abuse, I didn’t want to read it. I find it much harder to not have flashbacks of my life when I read through another person’s tale. I finally picked up this book on Saturday, and finished it late Saturday evening. It was heart wrenching, and I traveled her journey with many tears. It left me with a fairly sleepless night. I honestly don’t know how to review this more than giving a warning to someone (the 1 in 4 of us) that have been through a sexual trauma. It’s violent and graphic and regardless of where you are in your healing process, it brings up things you would rather not think about. It is brutally honest though, and left me wishing the best for her. I never thought that I would be rooting for a murderer, but I do hope that she continues to recover and move forward in her life.

4.0 out of 5 stars… (mer)

Truly a moving book! The book is about a young girl who idolizes her father, only to find herself being molested by him at the age of 8 and until she was 18. At that age of 18 and completely abused, destroyed and confused she killed her father. This book follows her life from infanthood to her life sentence in prison and so on. Despite the lable of murderer, you will syphathize with Stacey on many levels. Loved the book. Everyone asked me if it was a good book...I can't say that it was but not as a reflection as how it was written. The content in fact is so horrific and what this little girl went through that the word "good" would be disrespectful. But the book is a must read for sure!… (mer)