Edward Wayne Edwards was born in Ohio in 1933. Edwards grew up in a Catholic orphanage, where he claims he was abused by nuns. After having read other books about the abusive nuns in other schools...this claim is likely true. Edwards joined the Marines but eventually went AWOL and was discharged. Edwards held a series of random jobs and frequently moved around the country. Edwards was wanted by the FBI at one point for multiple robberies. He was wanted again in the 1980s for arson. Edwards was eventually apprehended for the murders of five people, though the number is expected to be much higher. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection but died of natural causes before his execution date. This book was written by his daughter, April, who details a childhood filled with poverty, uprooting, and extreme violence. April discusses Edwards and his extreme physical abuse of her mother and all of the children. He was also abusive to animals, killing them and attempting to kill them. His temper and personality were fear inducing and the lack of care that he showed towards his family was terrible to read. There were many instances of outright cruelty in this book that were just disgusting.

I have the Audible version of this book, which is several hours long. It took me a few days to listen, as I am unable to listen to books at my new job. The physical copy of this book is around 400 pages. I am a firm believer that people often dismiss the family members of those who have done terrible crimes. I think that is especially true in the case of children. People often assume that the family of the criminal must have known what they were up to, helped them do the thing, or covered up for them in some way. That may be true in many cases, but it is certainly not true in all of them. Especially when it comes to the children. Children are often unaware of what adults get up to in their spare time. Children are also often victims of various types of abuse, as is the case with the author of this book. Often, children do not gain clarity on their childhood experiences until much later in life and often require extensive therapy. It is easy for the public to condemn the family of the criminal along with them, but that should not be a default thing to do. I appreciate the author for being willing to share her story and her conflicted emotions about her realizations. I hate to say this was a good read, but it was.