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Mikal Gilmore is the youngest brother of the infamous Gary Gilmore who was executed in Utah by firing squad in 1977. This is an amazing, heart wrenching memoir of the Gilmore family. Mikal is a powerfully emotional writer as he shares in great detail his family history of dysfunction and abuse. He provides an understanding of how the Mormon religion views punishment, which sheds light on Gary‘s choice of method for his execution. #MountTBR

Thankful for out of state lending... This was an amazing book!

Heart wrenching

Gary Gilmore, immortalized in Norman Mailer's "The Executioner's Song," was executed by a firing squad in 1977 after vigorously campaigning for the death penalty when he was convicted of killing two store clerks in Utah. Mikal Gilmore is his brother. Here he tells the story of the wildly dysfunctional Gilmores: a family destroyed by a multigenerational history of child abuse, alcoholism, crime, adultery, and murder. Heart-breaking and sobering.

Written by the brother of infamous killer Gary Gilmore (the focus of Norman Mailer‘s book The Executioner‘s Song, currently on my TBR), I read this over twelve years ago when a college professor recommended it to me.

I have it three stars and I‘m wondering why. I fully intend an audio reread in the near future. #musicalnewyear #myshot

#nofemmeber #gunshot

I finally have a good one for these prompts! This is a great memoir of a very dysfunctional family. Mikal Gilmore is a journalist who wrote this in an effort to make sense of his brother - a murderer who was executed for his crimes and chose to be shot. If I remember rightly, he really digs into the history and psychology of their family and the Mormon religion - so it‘s a thoughtful rather than shocking read.

Am I the only bookworm who has to remove all the labels before reading a book? Let‘s not even talk about the turmoil that is caused if the cover rips. For book reviews and fiction please visit my website www.samharnold.com and sign up for my newsletter.

Gary Gilmore‘s brother wrote this book, and being that I‘m in Utah, I knew I needed to read it. #truecrime #utah #saltlakecity

True crime is a genre I love but I don't have a shelf for it on Goodreads! 😱 just ran around my house locating these true crime TBR reads. I think my favorite one I recently read was Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven. I've been to Colorado City...and it is creepy. Looking forward to these reads as well! #SEEWHATIHAVEWON

I saw the movie about him first, so when I read the book I pictured Tommy Lee Jones. #nonfictionlove #17booklove