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Suzy Spencer Speaking of Andrea Yates, the topic of Spencer's famed true crime book, BREAKING POINT, she states: " She was and is a woman suffering a very severe mental illness, schizophrenia, and who received inadequate medical treatment in the months preceding the murders. If she had received proper treatment, this tragedy would never have happened."
Suzy Spencer first came to my attention about seven years ago, and I was immediately impressed by the dynamic forward motion of her narratives coupled with her ability to set the scene of events without belaboring every physical nuance from outdoor environment to details of window shades -- she knows how to capture your attention, and most importantly, tell the story. Her BREAKING POINT goes beyond the superficial coverage inherent in the limited word count of newspaper stories, or the soundbite analysis of infotainment disguised as news. Spencer gets into the heart and soul of every story she investigates, and brings, dare I say it, a "spiritual sensitivity" to the complexities of human existence. Mental illnesses are medical condition whether the result of in utero virus, injury or heredity. Sadly, recent research found that more Americans believe that evil acts are caused by invisible demons from hell than in medical diagnosis and treatment for mental health conditions. Spencer has a perceptive eye, a kind heart and, if the atheists amongst us will pardon the phrase,God-given talent. Her literary abilities and personal sensitivity make her updated retelling of Andrea Yates' "BREAKING POINT" a definite addition to everyone's true crime non-fiction library.
BREAKING POINT
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The 911 Call That Shocked The Country
- NOW AVAILABLE with 20,000 word update
- Andrea Yates, a suburban Houston mother of five, horrified the nation on June 20, 2001, when she dialed 911 and said, “I killed my children.”
While her husband Rusty, a NASA engineer, was at work, Andrea filled the family bathtub with water and systematically drowned their children, ages six months to seven years. As her eldest child lay lifeless in the bathtub and the bodies of her four youngest rested in her bed, Andrea, a devoted Christian wife and former nurse, called the police to confess her sin.The investigations by the prosecutors, by the defense, and by the press delved deeper into Andrea’s mind and history, revealing a disturbing web of suicidal tendencies, depression, and psychoses. While her husband struggled between his overwhelming grief and his loyalty to his incarcerated wife, an outraged nation asked one question after another:
How could anyone do this?
What would drive a mother to kill her children?
Drawing from hundreds of hours of interviews, court testimony, and medical records, including new access to psychiatric and legal files, Breaking Point traces the story of an all-American family struggling with the darkness of a mental illness that twisted a loving mother into a killer obsessed with hellfire.
“Breaking Point is a truly spellbinding read.”–Aphrodite Jones, bestselling author of Cruel Sacrifice