While they slept an inquiry into the murder of a family

Early on an April morning, eighteen-year-old Billy Frank Gilley, Jr., killed his sleeping parents. Surprised in the act by his younger sister, Becky, he turned on her as well. He then climbed the stairs to the bedroom of his other sister, Jody, and said, "We're free." The murders ende...

Full description

Main Author: Harrison, Kathryn.
Format: Books Print Book
Language: English
Published: New York : Random House, c2008.
Edition: 1st ed.
Subjects:
Summary: Early on an April morning, eighteen-year-old Billy Frank Gilley, Jr., killed his sleeping parents. Surprised in the act by his younger sister, Becky, he turned on her as well. He then climbed the stairs to the bedroom of his other sister, Jody, and said, "We're free." The murders ended a lifetime of physical and mental abuse suffered by Billy and Jody at the hands of their parents. And it required each of the two survivors--one a convicted murderer, the other suddenly an orphan--to create a new identity, a new life. Author Harrison, herself a victim of child abuse, explores the impact of escalating violence and emotional abuse visited on the children of a deeply troubled family, and searches out answers to the question of how survivors of violent trauma shape a future when their lives have been divided into Before and After.--From publisher description.
Physical Description: 290 p. ; 25 cm.
ISBN: 9781400065424 (alk. paper)
1400065429 (alk. paper)
Author Notes: Kathryn Harrison lives in New York with her husband and their children.