Killing Lisa: The Life, Crime, and Execution of Lisa Montgomery by Toby Dorr
Toby Dorr’s Killing Lisa The Life, Crime, and Execution of Lisa Montgomery is a powerful thought provoking book about crime, female killers, mental illness, and a stinging indictment against the death penalty.
On January 13,2021 1:31 a.m. in Terre Haute, Indiana, Lisa Montgomery was executed for the murder of Bobbie Jo Stinnett who was pregnant at the time of her death. Montgomery cut the baby from Stinnett's womb through a makeshift Caesarian section to pass it off as her own.
This book is written by Toby Dorr who was incarcerated in the same prison as Montgomery and befriended her. It's a unique perspective that acknowledges the crime Montgomery committed but also the complex nature and character of Montgomery the person without justifying her actions.
Dorr, who was incarcerated for providing guns to a felon, met Montgomery in a crafting class. She was stunned that the gentle soft spoken woman with a talent for tatting, quilting, and knitting, who shared snacks, drew pictures and bookmarks, and exchanged stories about their children could also be the same woman who committed such a violent crime.
Dorr’s book tries to reconcile the gentle friend that she knew with the troubled woman who committed murder. Dorr saw a woman who was not a cold blooded killer but had a deeply fractured mind which turned Stinnett into a casualty of Montgomery's psychotic break.
Dorr reveals information from Montgomery's past not to defend her but to understand her. It's important to understand why a person commits murder to recognize the signs so it doesn't happen again.
In Montgomery’s case, the murder was preceded by years of physical and sexual abuse. One incident was so traumatic that she suffered brain damage. She was raped by her stepfather, impregnated by her stepbrother, suffered an abusive first marriage in which she gave birth to four children, and had a happier second marriage but the emotional and mental scars had long set in. She coped with the abuse by dissociation and was eventually diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, PTSD, and DID.
Besides Montgomery's mental state, Dorr saw a lot of blame from those who ignored her or cast aside her problems. Montgomery appealed to a relative who was also a deputy sheriff, Family Services who removed Lisa's sister from their parents but not herself, a doctor who sent her home without reporting her rape, and family court where she openly testified against her stepfather. No one intervened so the abuse continued and the troubled girl became a disturbed woman.
Dorr also cited flaws in the mental health care and legal systems. Since Montgomery lived far below the poverty line, she could not afford mental health treatment and was denied long term care. She received no therapy, no medication, no follow up, no diagnosis until it was far too late. She also had an attorney who was inexperienced in capital cases and barely scratched the surface of Montgomery’s psychological state and did not disclose Montgomery’s violent past. Dorr sees her friend who had been destroyed by the people around her long before she ever took a life.
Besides giving a detailed profile of her friend, Dorr turns her book into a plea against the death penalty. She sees it as an archaic form of punishment that does nothing to stop violent crimes or the circumstances that lead to the murder in question. She believes that all it does is create more deaths and more grief stricken friends and families.
Dorr does a commendable job of capturing her friend and making her case against the death penalty. She makes the readers aware that Montgomery was a person whose life and circumstances led to this moment and if she had been helped sooner, then both she and Stinnett would still be alive. She makes a good case mostly by appealing to emotions to show the dangers of the death penalty and a society that encourages capital murder while at the same time condemning individuals for it.
However her book is not particularly balanced. That was probably her intention not to go into the details of the crime itself, the means, the encounter, Montgomery's motives, and the investigation. She was laser focused on her friend but forgot that there was another person involved: Bobbie Jo Stinnett.
She probably wanted to keep Montgomery the focus but ignoring Stinnett removes an important part of the story. Dorr dedicates the book to both women but does not give us Stinnett as a person. We don't know anything about her, her background, her past, or her life. She left behind a husband, family, friends, and plenty of dogs (she was a dog breeder), but we experienced none of that.
Perhaps Dorr did not know much about her. Perhaps she didn't want to compromise her view of her friend. Perhaps she thought that if she focused on the murder and the victim, then the reader would lose their empathetic perception of Montgomery. Either way this is technically a three person story, a triangle: Montgomery, Dorr, and Stinnett and Stinnett's angle is obviously shorter than the other two’s.
Regardless of whether readers agree or disagree with the position that Dorr takes or find holes in the way that she told it, her book definitely opens conversations about violence, illness, guilt, innocence, and whether justice is truly met when one is executed for murder or if it creates a greater cycle of violence, grief, and despair.
Time Capsule of 1986: American Life, Culture, Breakthroughs, and World Events in Full Color With Real Photos Includes Timeline of the Generation of '86 (Year in History Books) by Pierce DeMars
The 80’s was an interesting decade and 1986 was monumental for many reasons. I was 9 years old, attending 3rd Grade at Longwood Elementary School, and living in Eglin Air Force Base Ft. Walton Beach FL with my parents, older brother, and three younger sisters. This book is a bright, colorful, informative look at this particular year.
The book offers an engaging snapshot of life during this time. It includes important news events like The Challenger Explosion, he Chernobyl Disaster, and The Reagan-Gorbachev Reykjavik Summit.
Chapters include Everyday Life including Food, Fashion, Work, School, Arts and Culture including Mainstream and Alternatives in Music, TV, Cinema, and Literature, Sports including Triumphs, Records, and Scandals, the World in 1986, including National and International News, the Life of the American Family, Science, Technology, and Innovation, and Life of the Generation of 1986. .
For those who lived through that year, it reopens several memories. For those who didn't, it gives an interesting widespread look at how people lived before they were born.
One of the more interesting chapters is the final one that goes through a timeline that someone born in 1986 would have experienced. Milestones include being born in an analog world and when the Cold War was still present, to being 3 years old when the Cold War ended, 5 when Soviet Union dissolved, 7 when the World Wide Web was made public, early teens when the first Internet connections arrived, 15 during 9/11, in their 20’s by the time social media was introduced to the public, 22 when Barack Obama was elected US President, 30 when Donald Trump was elected for his first term, 34 during the COVID pandemic, and 40 this year during a time of continuous AI, political unrest, and the struggles of maintaining a work-life balance.
Shadow Work Demystified: A Step-by-step Guide to Cultivate Inner Peace, Heal Deep Trauma and Emotional Triggers, and Overcome Limiting Patterns to Reclaim Your Personal Power by V.V. Phoenix
The Shadow Self is a Jungian archetype that describes the unconscious part of the personality that is hidden within and encompasses all the parts that are ignored or buried. It compromises many of the more negative emotions and thoughts like anger, ignorance, fear, sadness, envy, greed, selfishness, and other parts that are often hidden. This book encourages readers not to eliminate those traits but to understand, manage, and integrate them.
The chapters are interactive and engaging by using esoteric and practical advice.
Chapters include The Shadow Within, Stop Running-The Shadow’s Already in the Room, Spotting Your Inner Saboteur, Before The Dig-Setting The Ground For Inner Work, Meeting Your Shadow, When The Going Gets Tough, Living Wholeheartedly, and Stepping Into the Light.
The book presents advice, personal experiences, and exercises to bring the Shadow Self forward and work alongside it to understand the entire self. For example Chapter 5: Meeting Your Shadow includes sections on Talking To What's Hidden, The Clues in Your Dreams, Shadow Journaling, Letting The Shadow Be The Artist, Calm Observation, 3-2-1 Shadow Process, and The Good/Bad Box. The exercises include using active imagination, dream interpretation, writing prompts, art prompts, mindfulness techniques, dialogue with the shadow, and asking questions about the shadow.
Keep on Glowing: A Guided Journal to Reclaim Your Radiance and Own Your Next Chapter by Robin Emtage
The book is divided into six chapters. It includes an Introduction-How to use these pages, glow tracker guide, your glow baseline, and my glow intention map, Radiant Mindset-Reconnect with your thoughts, truth, and inner light, Sacred Self-Care-Nourish your body, rhythm, and radiant means, Glow Rituals-Anchor your glow in joyful, intentional routines, Protective boundaries-Reclaim your energy, peace, and emotional space, Unapologetic Expression-Speak up, show up, and radiant as your full self, and Glow Forward-Your glow promise and closing reflections.
The entries prompt readers to look inward to answer their own questions and leave plenty of space to answer them. For example Chapter 1: Radiant Mindset includes activities like entries on “Define Your Radiance,” “Stop Shrinking, Start Shining,” “Slow Down to Shine,” “Release and Remember Your Worth,” “Build Trust Within,” “Honor Your Timing,” “The Rhythm of Resilience,” “Speak to Yourself With Love,” “The Overgiver,” “Glow Freely,” “Your Radiant Self,” “Name Your Glow,” “Reflect Your Glow Shift,” “Letting Go, Inviting In,” “Live Your Truth Out Loud,” “Your Glowing Future,” and Glow Within: A Spiritual Reset.”
Each entry includes Glow Affirmations and Glow Activities and some also feature other questions and suggestions. For example “Glow Within A Spiritual Reset” features a Glow Affirmation that says “I am divinely guided, deeply rooted, and fully aligned.” The Glow Activity says “Take a few moments of quiet. Light a candle, breathe slowly, or close your eyes. Then reflect: What does being spiritually aligned mean to me right now? Other questions for the entry include “Where in my life do I need to surrender control and trust more?” and “When was the last time that I felt connected to something greater than myself?”
The chapter also includes list activities like 2 “,Glow Snapshots,” “The Glow Reframe,” “Mini Glow Moments,” “This Month’s Glow Focus,” and “7 Day Glow Reset.” They ask various questions about specific activities. For example the first “Glow Snapshot” says “Today's Glow Intention,” “One Thought I Released,” “One Act of Self-Kindness I Gave Myself,” “A Moment I Feel Radiant,” “Evening Glow Gratitude,” and a “Mood Check In.”
