Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Reviews tagging 'Child death'
The Doomsday Mother: Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and the End of an American Family by John Glatt
18 reviews
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
While it was a good retrospective on the case and what happened, it was not a good book. All throughout it was written as: X happened and then y happened and so on and so forth. It didn't really delve into the case and people's psychology while it was happening.
For example, during the book it is mentioned that Chad is excommunicated from the Mormon church but doesn't go into what that would mean for him or really talk about it at all other than presenting it as a thing that happened. Really the book could have delved into the Mormonism and how that lead them onto their path.
Overall, the book doesn't really provide any new information and was written before any sentencing even occurred. Maybe pick it up if you want to know the facts of the case, but otherwise it's not worth picking up.
For example, during the book it is mentioned that Chad is excommunicated from the Mormon church but doesn't go into what that would mean for him or really talk about it at all other than presenting it as a thing that happened. Really the book could have delved into the Mormonism and how that lead them onto their path.
Overall, the book doesn't really provide any new information and was written before any sentencing even occurred. Maybe pick it up if you want to know the facts of the case, but otherwise it's not worth picking up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death
dark
slow-paced
Chronologically easy to follow. Handles subject with sensitivity overall, but audiobook narrator sounds robotic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Violence
Moderate: Eating disorder
informative
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Murder
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
This gives a lot of background and detail to this case and everything that led up to it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
THE DOOMSDAY MOTHER is a very interesting book detailing the life and mental collapse of Lori Vallow Daybell as she navigated youth in a neglectful home and religious extremism.
STORY 3.5/5: this was a very large case in the US -- if you were following along, a lot of the information in this book will not be new but personally, i didn't know much about Lori's childhood so that was helpful to have. i did follow the case as it was unfolding but due to the nature of the US justice system things take awhile and details are lost in the mix so i did appreciate having the entire story in a concise timeline.
there have been a lot of complaints ive read about the book that the author was a bit too sympathetic to Lori (insinuating that she is just as responsible to what happened as Chad) but i think the author did a great job portraying this situation for what it was.Lori is mentally ill -- she was in an unstable household and then fell into a string of abusive relationships and was pining for something stable and secure (religion). the more she needed to feel secure, the more she travelled down that rabbit hole until it got her to an extreme, bastardized version of mormonism. that also left her super susceptible to manipulation from people she put on a pedestal. do i think Lori is guilty -- yes, but i dont think that she would have killed her kids if she got mental health counseling. i dont think she would have killed her kids if she didnt meet Chad. Chad did pull a lot of the strings and purposefully got the cult to one area in utah, had them agree to certain things like not talking to the police and actively lying to the police.
STORY 3.5/5: this was a very large case in the US -- if you were following along, a lot of the information in this book will not be new but personally, i didn't know much about Lori's childhood so that was helpful to have. i did follow the case as it was unfolding but due to the nature of the US justice system things take awhile and details are lost in the mix so i did appreciate having the entire story in a concise timeline.
there have been a lot of complaints ive read about the book that the author was a bit too sympathetic to Lori (insinuating that she is just as responsible to what happened as Chad) but i think the author did a great job portraying this situation for what it was.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder
emotional
informative
slow-paced
I don't know how to begin how I feel about this book. I was struggling to get through it and attribute my finishing it in 3 days to listening to the audiobook for most of my reading. It felt like a choppily put-together timeline of events spanning years of complex family relations, minute details that are mentioned once and never brought up again, and agony. I went into this knowing most of the story about what happened to JJ and Tylee but this threw me into the world of Lori and Chad Daybell in a way I wasn't ready for. I still can't wrap my head around the incident and this furthered my confusion.
I did not like the writing, there was confusion surrounding people who had the same no with little clarification as to who was being talked about at which time, and I constantly had to backtrack and reread portions of the book to understand where I was at in the case. The first half was immensely boring. For two religious fanatics and doomsday preppers, Lori and Chad were so boring. Nothing about the recap of their lives was told in an interesting fashion to keep me gripped and I kept wondering when I'd get to the part I actually picked up this book for. Coming out of this book was like walking through a maze I'd been wandering around in for 3 days with no clear indication of where I was going, only to realize that this book ends with no real conclusion and that it should have been shelved to be published when this case is over.
I did not like the writing, there was confusion surrounding people who had the same no with little clarification as to who was being talked about at which time, and I constantly had to backtrack and reread portions of the book to understand where I was at in the case. The first half was immensely boring. For two religious fanatics and doomsday preppers, Lori and Chad were so boring. Nothing about the recap of their lives was told in an interesting fashion to keep me gripped and I kept wondering when I'd get to the part I actually picked up this book for. Coming out of this book was like walking through a maze I'd been wandering around in for 3 days with no clear indication of where I was going, only to realize that this book ends with no real conclusion and that it should have been shelved to be published when this case is over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence
Minor: Incest, Pandemic/Epidemic
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
The crazy true story of Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and the deaths surrounding them.
I felt like the author blamed Chad for everything. I feel like Lori had more power in the relationship than the author gave her, especially in the crimes surrounding her relatives. I also felt like he didn't get enough into the details. I learned a few new details, but the book also missed some things about the case I've learned from other sources.
Overall, an okay overview of the case.
I felt like the author blamed Chad for everything. I feel like Lori had more power in the relationship than the author gave her, especially in the crimes surrounding her relatives. I also felt like he didn't get enough into the details. I learned a few new details, but the book also missed some things about the case I've learned from other sources.
Overall, an okay overview of the case.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Murder
Minor: Child abuse