Welcome to Litsy!

Well, Day 1 of the Litsy Walking Challenge is in the books! It looks pretty bleak out there! Bottom left is my house from the back. Kinda proud of myself- we can do this @kaye ! Thanks for the inspiration @DarcysMom !

#LitsyWalkers

In 2009 a man broke into Teresa Butz and her girlfriend Jennifer Hopper's home. He repeatedly raped both women, then stabbed them. Jennifer survived. Teresa did not.

This isn't just a true crime book, it's a story of the lives of two women who lived and loved, and of the friends and family who adored them.

It's also the story of Isaiah Kalebu- a young man who fell through the cracks of a country with failing mental health care.

#nonfiction2018

This is an imperative look at the way our justice system fails those with mental illness. Isaiah Kalebu broke into the house of Theresa Butz and Jennifer Hopper one night and after brutally assaulting and raping both women, he fatally stabbed Theresa. The ensuing trial displayed the obvious failure that had been going on for years with treating Isaiah‘s mental health issues. As important as it is, I was a bit bored.

Needed a palate cleanser between finishing The Expanse published works and starting The Broken Earth series again in anticipation of the third coming out this month. True crime non-fiction seems like a good break.

Powerful. Compelling. I wish someone would clearly see that there is mental illness and if that is addressed, perhaps Mr. Kalebu could contribute to society, though now from inside prison walls.

This story was very well told, though (expectedly) tragic. Sanders tells the story of Jennifer and Theresa with care and respect, and tells Isaiah's story with the same care while highlighting the many ways in which the system failed all three of them. Isaiah's labyrinthine journey through the courts bogged the story down somewhat, but otherwise this was difficult to put down. 4 stars.

The top non-fiction list was easier than the fiction list, but it was still hard to winnow it down: goo.gl/ LxGjw0

Thank you Littens for a fabulous first month on Litsy. ❤️ I've enjoyed the interaction with fellow book addicts so much! Here's to building that TBR pile even higher.

#bestofNovember #photoadayNov16

Poignant yet gruesome, beautiful yet disturbing. Seems contradictory, but I promise it delivers. Sanders, a journalist who covered the story and the trial, describes key players and events in the brutal murder of Teresa Butz in Seattle in 2009. It is a love story as well as a tragedy, exposing the shameful state of our mental health system and how it, as well as the murderer, are both guilty of this heinous crime. #nonfictionnovember

Next two book club picks!

I had to read Eli Sander's wonderfully sensitive portrayal of this horrible tragedy, which occurred a few miles from my house. I am in awe of the resilience Jennifer has shown. This is staying with me, many thoughts about childhood trauma, about building resiliences in families, about community mental health systems, so much more.

Recommended. More questions than answers in this book, and that turns out to be good. Mostly it doesn't detail the horrors of the night itself, and that is good, too. Jennifer Hopper is remarkable.

Even if we didn't know how this was going to end, we can guess how it would end. Poor Isaiah. I imagine Rowan being in his position - which he is decidedly not, but he has similar traits as Isaiah did at a young age.
(Next: a little break from the intensity!)

GEEZ. This book, Jennifer and Teresa's story, has got me in its grip and won't let me go. I know Isaiah's story is coming too.

I took a break to read and knit while Ro put together Legos in the other room with Seth. I'm both rested and sad now--this is not a pretty story (of course, we already know how it ends). Eli Sanders is a great writer and worked hard on this.

"True crime" at its most sensitive and best. Sanders' beautiful portrayal of the victims and compassionate examination of the perpetrator are unmatched. I was so moved.

This is a love story, a tragedy, and a gruesome murder mystery. But it is harrowing not merely because of the violence it recounts, but because of the way it methodically exposes the flaws and failures of the mental health and criminal justice systems in Washington State. Http://www.goo.gl/kTj7Mx

Also listening to this local interest (Seattle) book. Gut wrenching read about a terrible crime and how the system fails the mentally ill. Eli Saunders won a Pulitzer for his newspaper coverage of these events.