5-Star Review of "Forgiving My Daughter's Killer"

Review of Forgiving My Daughter's Killer: A True Story of Loss, Faith and Unexpected Grace

by Kate Grosmaire with Nancy French

Forgiveness has less to do with the person who harmed you than you think.



On March 28, 2010, Kate and Andy Grosmaire received two pieces of news that would change their lives forever.



The first was their worst nightmare: “Ann has been shot.”



The second was the dumbfounding addendum: “Conor was the one who shot her.”



Their nineteen-year-old daughter had been killed by her boyfriend, a young man who had lived with the family and had come to feel like part of it.



In a beautiful, tragic testament to the liberating power of forgiveness, Kate Grosmaire finally tells the whole story of her daughter’s death at the hand of her boyfriend—and the stunning, deliberate forgiveness and help that Kate and her husband offered to the young man who shattered their world. That forgiveness meant not only telling him face-to-face that they forgave him but even working to reduce the time he would spend behind bars.

MY REVIEW:  What a touching and incredible story!  Indescribable horror when they get the news that their 19-year-old daughter has been shot....by her own boyfriend whom they love.  They were practically engaged.  They find their daughter unresponsive, her head bandaged so they cannot even see her face or head.  Her eye was blown away along with half of her brain.  They must make the unthinkable decision to take her off the life support and let her go to the Lord after several days of hoping and praying.   Their friends, family, and church are an amazing support system, but the shooter's family has no one.  Conor's family is left alone but his father appears at the hospital to see her and express his sadness.  Kate and her husband take him in and love him.  Kate is asked to visit Conor in jail as he can only put four visitors on his list and he puts her.  He apologizes profusely and she forgives him.  

      I love the way this family approaches their tragedy with grace and mercy.  They even work to reduce the sentence for Conor.   They give the ultimate gift:  forgiveness.  They know that God commands that we must forgive others in order that He may forgive us.  They put this into practice in a big way.   This is the best non-fiction book I have ever read about a family's tragic experience and their forgiveness of the killer.   I could not stop reading as it was so compelling and brutally honest.  

       I rate this book 5 stars and highly recommend it to readers.

       I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

About the Author:

Kate Grosmaire became an educator about Restorative Justice after her daughter was killed.  She and her husband are the cofounders of the Ann Grosmaire "Be the Change" Fund, a charitable fund to promote forgiveness and restorative justice practices.  Kate lives in Tallahassee, Florida.

Nancy French is a three-time New York Times bestselling author who has written books with former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Chinese dissident Bob Fu, Iraq war vet and Constitutional lawyer David French, Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson, and Bristol Palin.  Read about these--and other books--at www.NancyFrench.com and connect with her on Twitter at @NancyAFrench.