Helpful Score: 1
I was fortunate enough to procure this in hardcover when it was released, and I doubt there will be a second run since it wasn't well-received by the media (who I don't think bothered to read it, instead chastising Lionel for trying to capitalize on his son's gruesome crimes). Lionel Dahmer, father of Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey, has left us a poignant and candid memoir facing his own demons and trying to find out what darkness inside of him might have become part of his child. I found it moving, and have returned to it time and again.
Not sure what to think of this book. I can't imagine what it must be like to have a child do such horrific things. This book will not really explain how Lionel Dahmer feels either.
Also, not to long ago I saw Jeffrey Dahmer's mother in an interview in which she completelty refutes all the things in the book about her difficult pregnancy with Jeffrey. That makes me wonder about the truthfullness of other things in the book.
I don't know. It was interesting and I'm glad I read it but I was a little disappointed in it.
Also, not to long ago I saw Jeffrey Dahmer's mother in an interview in which she completelty refutes all the things in the book about her difficult pregnancy with Jeffrey. That makes me wonder about the truthfullness of other things in the book.
I don't know. It was interesting and I'm glad I read it but I was a little disappointed in it.
Chemist Lionel Dahmer recounts his complete denial when he first heard his son Jeffrey Dahmer was accussed of horendous murders. As evidence accumulates Lionel recounts his incremental degrees of steps toward realization of his son's actions. Family memoir, confession of the saddest truth a parent can know.
Lionel Dahmer delves into his own life and psyche and tries to explain to the public and himself how his son Jeffrey Dahmer - the notorious serial killer who was caught and imprisoned in 1991 - turned from loving son to gruesome murderer. He psychoanalyzes himself and tries to pinpoint the traits in himself that turned so wrong in his son. This is the second time that I've read this book and I give it an A+!
Great book, with invaluable insight from the person that probably knew J. Dahmer as much as anyone could. I genuinely credit Dahmer's father for mustering the courage to tell his part, and his thoughts about the life of his son. Althought the book quasi "blames" Joyce, Jeff Dahmer's mother for a lot of the instability Jeff experienced as a child, Lionel fully implicated himself as an equal part of the equation. If you are at all interested in the life and history of Jeffrey Dahmer before he became infamous, I HIGHLY recommend this well written, heart crafted, work of non-fiction.
I enjoyed it and I felt that Mr Dahmer really did take on a lot of the blame for his son's crimes. An excellent look into the back story of Jeff Dahmer.
Jeffrey Dahmer's father speaks about his son.
