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To the Bridge
To the Bridge: A True Story of Motherhood and Murder | Nancy Rommelmann
21 posts | 20 read | 62 to read
The case was closed, but for journalist Nancy Rommelmann, the mystery remained: What made a mother want to murder her own children? On May 23, 2009, Amanda Stott-Smith drove to the middle of the Sellwood Bridge in Portland, Oregon, and dropped her two children into the Willamette River. Forty minutes later, rescuers found the body of four-year-old Eldon. Miraculously, his seven-year-old sister, Trinity, was saved. As the public cried out for blood, Amanda was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to thirty-five years in prison. Embarking on a seven-year quest for the truth, Rommelmann traced the roots of Amanda's fury and desperation through thousands of pages of records, withheld documents, meetings with lawyers and convicts, and interviews with friends and family who felt shocked, confused, and emotionally swindled by a woman whose entire life was now defined by an unspeakable crime. At the heart of that crime: a tempestuous marriage, a family on the fast track to self-destruction, and a myriad of secrets and lies as dark and turbulent as the Willamette River.
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HighLadyoftheStacks
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Panpan

My run on well done non-fiction has ended. I wouldn‘t call this poorly written, just inconsistent. And often details where rehashed rather than providing anything new.

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readingjedi
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Mehso-so

Found this one just a little bit ... weird. The writing was weirdly unsuited to subject matter - too casual, chatty, colloquial. The investigative aspect was weirdly lacking - it was just the same facts and insights rehashed several times over. It was padded out with weirdly irrelevant and inappropriate personal anecdotes that brought nothing to the table. The author seemed more than a little obsessed with the perpetrator...cont. in comments ⬇️⬇️

readingjedi ...sending a convicted child murderer anonymous magazine subscriptions? I felt that was just ... weird. While some of this book was interesting, a lot seemed superficial and vague to me. 6y
LiteraryinPA Great review! It sounds odd but I‘m glad to learn about it. 6y
LauraJ Agreed, great review! 6y
89 likes3 comments
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readingjedi
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It happened AGAIN! I picked this book from my TBR list using an online random number generator. And within a few pages a link to the last book I read pops up! The screaming eagle was the emblem of Easy Company and the last book I read was Band of Brothers! This happens to me so many times! It's a little freaky but kinda cool too!

cathysaid Good book. Terrible subject matter but great #truecrime read. 6y
Billypar I love it when stuff like that happens. At a recent book shop trip I got two books, a novel and a poetry collection by Mary Oliver. I just read the novel and the epigram was a Mary Oliver quote. 6y
readingjedi @cathysaid I was only a few pages in before I started thinking I'd find it too upsetting...but then realised I was hooked! 6y
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readingjedi @Billypar It's almost like books can send out subliminal messages so you're subconsciously drawn to books with links ... I could be over thinking this 🤣 6y
cathysaid @readingjedi Fortunately little is detailed (that I remember) about the actual act in the crime. If much had been detailed about that, I couldn‘t have stomached it. 6y
Recommended4Reading I don't think that has ever happened to me...but I have picked up books, unbeknownst to me, where it references my home state or city--and that's pretty cool...its that feeling you had when you were a kid and found a four leaf clover. 😏 6y
akckitty So crazy reading about something that happened basically next door to me. 😔 Also, the ScreamNEagle was one of my favorite rides. 6y
84 likes7 comments
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readingjedi
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Finished Band of Brothers (review to follow) and am now starting this one which also happens to be non-fiction. Two in a row is unusual for me!

allureofbeauty I have that but I didn‘t finish it. Got distracted and always meant to go back lol 6y
81 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Eggs
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#bridgeovertroubledwater #marchintothe70s @Cinfhen @Lizpixie
A detailed look into the events surrounding a mother, Amanda Stott Smith, who drove to the middle of the Sellwood bridge in Portland OR and dropped in her 4 yo and 7 yo

tammysue Have you read this one? It‘s on my tbr, sounds that it would be a challenging read. 6y
Eggs Yes. Challenging but the author does not oversensationalize the facts 6y
74 likes5 stack adds2 comments
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cherinium
Mehso-so

This #truecrime story was compelling and easy to read, but I did find the telling of the story to be a bit disjointed. #nonfiction

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cherinium
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Started on this one last night. I had gotten it as a Kindle First Read several months ago and am just getting to it. I have been really neglecting my ebook catalogue lately. There's just so many, I get overwhelmed and don't know where to start! 😧#ebook #kindle #toomanybookstoolittletime

Reviewsbylola I thought this one was done very well. 6y
33 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Reviewsbylola
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Pickpick

I‘m pretty obsessed with the Chris Watts case right now (the CO man who just killed his family) so this was a fitting read. True crime about Amanda Stott-Smith, a woman who threw her two young children off a bridge in 2009. One lived, one died.

What would make a mother do something so incomprehensible? Rommelmann did a great job exploring how Amanda got to that point. It read almost like a documentary, with a non linear format.

tpixie Lovely flowers 🌸 6y
merelybookish I'm in CO. Everyone is obsessed with the Chris Watts story. It's so horrific! 6y
writerlibrarian Beautiful pic 💖 6y
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Reviewsbylola I‘m totally obsessed. My boss is a criminal defense attorney and I‘m sure he is sick of hearing me jabber on about it. 😂😂 it‘s just so horrifying. @merelybookish 6y
Leftcoastzen Argh ,Watts case so horrible. 6y
Wan.der.love Gorgeous photo 😄 6y
Mdargusch I just got this from @Alicia in my #itstrulycriminalswap and I‘m so excited! 6y
Reviewsbylola Oh cool!!! You will like it! @Mdargusch 6y
Cinfhen Great photo 6y
114 likes5 stack adds9 comments
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Reviewsbylola
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On the road reading while @HotdogZanzabaar listens to his podcast. I love reading on long car trips. Anyone with me?? I always feel so bad for the people that get carsick and can‘t read in the car.

LeeRHarry Nope, carsick queen right here ! 🤢 6y
RadicalReader @LeeRHarry hate getting any kind of sick especially when it involves transportation which in today‘s society is practically a necessity 6y
FantasyChick I am one of those people! I cant even read my phone on trips. But...I'm usually the driver so the situation doesn't come up often 😁 6y
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Melissa_J Me too 😊. I don‘t get motion sick on any type of moving vehicle so bring on the reading! 6y
Lidia I'm with you on that! I love reading on car trips, bus trips and any kind of trip 😄. Thank God I don't have motion sickness 6y
ErikasMindfulShelf Love reading in the car. I‘ve made sure my kids read too. Whenever we take the car they bring a book. 6y
Pamwurtzler I was always so grateful that my kids could read in the car. Made the trip so much easier! 6y
rabbitprincess I get carsick but can read on planes and trains no problem! And in the car I can use audiobooks. 6y
RiotousReads I love reading in the car! There‘s no better way to pass the time, I‘m forever grateful I don‘t get motion sick :) 6y
MarriedtoMrT Yes! Love it! Sometimes I get distracted by the monotony though, if that makes any sense, so I bring multiple books and formats and switch it up. 6y
BarbaraBB I love it too but sometimes feel guilty to the driver. Not much fun being in a car with me...🤣 6y
Kalalalatja I can get carsick, but as long as I can switch between reading and napping, I‘m good 😅 6y
110 likes12 comments
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Tanzy13
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True-crime lovers, this one's for you. On May 23, 2009, Amanda Stott-Smith drove to a bridge in Portland, OR, and dropped her two children — 4-year old Eldon and 7-year old Trinity — into the rushing river below; Eldon drowned, his sister miraculously lived. Amanda was soon arrested, convicted, and sentenced to 35 years in prison. For journalist Nancy Rommelmann, the case wasn't as cut and dried as it seemed, however; what made Amanda do it? Why?

Reviewsbylola You had me at true crime. Stacked!! 6y
73 likes15 stack adds1 comment
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WellReadCatLady
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Pickpick

It is easy to say a mother killing her children is a monstrous and heinous act, but what leads up to that point? Was it preventable, is it 100% her fault, what was life like for the children and the mother who commits this crime? To The Bridge examines Amanda's life, her children's, Trinity, Eldon, and Gavin, and her husband's, Jason, lives before she threw 2 of her kids off of a bridge causing one to die.

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DoingDewey
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Not sure how I feel about this one! It's engagingly written and morbidly fascinating. However, I don't love that it follows the author's experience learning about the story instead of telling the story in chronological order; I don't feel like we're getting any answers; and it seems like the author was sometimes pretty persistent about talking to the family when they just wanted her to go away.

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WellReadCatLady
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Trying out Kindle Unlimited

18 likes1 stack add
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Eggs
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An exploration of the dynamics and events that led to an Oregon mom dropping her 7 year old daughter and 4 year old son over the bridge into the Williamette river. About 500 kids per year are killed by a parent (those are just the reported ones). This book was hard to put down.

Swe_Eva That sounds like a tough read, but perhaps it‘s more investigative than emotional? 7y
Anna40 It does sound horrible. Don't know if I could read it.. 7y
Eggs @Swe_Eva @Anna40 It is not mawkish nor does it sensationalize. I'd have had trouble reading fiction about this. But this happened and continues to happen in the world we live in; so what's fascinating is the spectrum of mental health issues that would lead to filicide. 7y
Swe_Eva @Eggs Thanks! 6y
67 likes4 stack adds4 comments
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cathysaid
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Pickpick

Solid, objective, and well researched account of Amanda Stott-Smith and her murder of her children in 2009. While it's a tough, heartbreaking read, it's also fascinating. While she is clearly responsible for a heinous, incomprehensible crime, many people in this situation share the blame along with Amanda. And just as with the Andrea Yates case, I believe Amanda's husband should be prosecuted as well. 4/5 ⭐️ #nonfiction #truecrime

RaimeyGallant Great review! 7y
Bostonmomx2 I‘m not sure how I never heard about this. My library doesn‘t have this tho, bummer 😕 7y
cathysaid @Bostonmomx2 I hadn't heard of it either until I discovered it as a First Read on Kindle. You can pre-order it for 4.99 and release date is July 1. But if you're a Prime member, you can get it this month for free. (edited) 7y
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Bostonmomx2 @cathysaid oh shoot. I think I already picked something else. I‘ll have to double check. 7y
kelseyyrose10 Thanks for the heads up about the First Read on Kindle. Excited to dive into this one!! 6y
cathysaid @kelseyyrose10 You're welcome. And welcome to Litsy! Check out @LitsyHappenings for information about all that is going on here - book swaps, buddy reads, photo challenges, and much more. Also look at the pages of @Chelleo and @RaimeyGallant for tips and hints on navigating Litsy. #LitsyWelcomeWagon 6y
RaimeyGallant @kelseyyrose10 Welcome! The tips and videos about Litsy are in @chelleo's bio and my own, if you ever need them. :) 6y
Chelleo @kelseyyrose10 Welcome to Litsy! 6y
46 likes2 stack adds8 comments
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guinsgirlreads
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This was a hard month to decide on just one for Amazon First Reads! I had to take the true crime story though!

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Chocamanda
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It's Amazon First Reads day! I snagged the tagged/pictured book. Looks like a great true crime read. Do you participate in Amazon First Reads?

Beckys_Books I do, but have only read 2 or 3 of my selections! 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage I do, but I wait until the end of the month to choose. That way more reviews are in! 7y
Chocamanda @Beckys_Books there are just too many books and too little time to read them! I haven't read all of my picks either. 7y
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Chocamanda @BarbaraTheBibliophage that's a very smart idea! I'm worried if I tried that I would forget to make my selection 🙈 7y
sprainedbrain I do! I was torn between this one and the one I ended up getting (The Things We Don‘t Say). 😃 7y
Chocamanda @sprainedbrain that one sounded good too! I hope you enjoy The Things We Don't Say 🤓 7y
19 likes6 comments