• Complain

Carlton Stowers - Sins of the Son

Here you can read online Carlton Stowers - Sins of the Son full text of the book (entire story) in english for free. Download pdf and epub, get meaning, cover and reviews about this ebook. year: 2000, publisher: St. Martins Publishing Group, genre: Detective and thriller. Description of the work, (preface) as well as reviews are available. Best literature library LitArk.com created for fans of good reading and offers a wide selection of genres:

Romance novel Science fiction Adventure Detective Science History Home and family Prose Art Politics Computer Non-fiction Religion Business Children Humor

Choose a favorite category and find really read worthwhile books. Enjoy immersion in the world of imagination, feel the emotions of the characters or learn something new for yourself, make an fascinating discovery.

Carlton Stowers Sins of the Son

Sins of the Son: summary, description and annotation

We offer to read an annotation, description, summary or preface (depends on what the author of the book "Sins of the Son" wrote himself). If you haven't found the necessary information about the book — write in the comments, we will try to find it.

An acclaimed true-crime author takes on his toughest project of all writing about a murderer who happens to be his son.
When a hideous murder makes the headlines, a barrage of questions usually appears in its wake: Why did this happen? Could it have been prevented? What kind of family was the criminal from? Are his parents in some way to blame? Any crime writer worth his salt would attempt to answer these questions but how do you address such questions when the killer is your own son?
As a single father raising two sons, Carlton Stowers did his best to instill in his boys a healthy sense of right and wrong. But with Anson, his oldest, it would prove to be an ongoing uphill battle. At a young age, Anson began to angrily shun authority, and soon became involved with a number of illicit activities, including drugs, forgery, and theft. After each jail stay, Anson would vow to get clean and start anew. It became a revolving door for both father and son, until Anson, twenty-five years old and strung-out on amphetamines, brutally murdered his young ex-wife.
In a brave, honest, and moving work, bestselling true-crime writer Carlton Stowers examines the downfall of his eldest son, once a happy child full of promise, now a convicted murderer serving a sixty-year sentence. With a reporters shrewdness and a fathers heart, Stowers presents a true story of two lives irrevocably lost, and of one man struggling to both understand and move beyond the...Sins of the Son.

Carlton Stowers: author's other books


Who wrote Sins of the Son? Find out the surname, the name of the author of the book and a list of all author's works by series.

Sins of the Son — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Sins of the Son" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

Reset

Interval:

Bookmark:

Make
Table of Contents THERE ARE THOSE WHO MADE IMPORTANT AND much-appreciated - photo 1
Table of Contents

THERE ARE THOSE WHO MADE IMPORTANT AND much-appreciated contributions to this book long before I even knew I would write it. Some, for private reasons, wish to remain anonymous. Understand, though, that the omission of their names in no way lessens my gratitude for their help and insight.
In a manner of speaking, this book is as much Ansons as it is mine. Frankly, had he not agreed that it was a worthy endeavor, I would never have undertaken it. So, Son, I thank you first and offer the sincere hope that this exploration benefited you as it did me.
The encouragement of my wife, Pat, was the fuel that drove the project to completion, and it came as no small comfort to know that my son Ashley deemed the idea a good one and blessed it with his support.
For jogging my memory and providing needed help at vital times, Im indebted to the Reverend Dean Pratt, Mike Barclay, Phil Hambrick, Roy Vaughn, Billy Fowler, Dr. Mark Unterburg, Clara Roark, Dr. James Grigson, Shawna Sanders, Sheila Jordan,Sharon Valenti, Beverly Deignan, Ronald Duval, Linda Martin, Brad Lollar, and Arch McColl III.
And, once more, Janet Wilkens Manus took the duties of literary agent above and beyond. Thanks also to Brian DeFiore for the encouragement, enthusiasm, and patience.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the name of colleague Skip Hollandsworth, a fine Texas Monthly writer who, without even knowing it, pushed me toward the decision to do this book. Its the one, he said almost offhandedly one day, that everyone who knows you is waiting for you to write.
Too, be aware that certain names of people mentioned have been changed in the interest of their privacy.
A final thought: As mentioned elsewhere, my work has placed me in the company of a number of people who have been the victims of family tragedies, and Ive watched in admiration the manner in which they dealt with their sorrows and angers and marveled at their remarkable courage and strength of will. Their names are: Nancy Wiser, Rod Montgomery, Jan and Robert Thompson, Richard Franks, Sandra Sadler, Dr. Peter Gailiunas, Henry and Angela Agostinelli, Mark and Paula Donahue, Don and Shirley Moore, David and Sheryl Zanolini, and Mark and Sherry Prine. I thank each for friendship so willingly given and a special brand of strength Ive borrowed from more often than any of them know.
Carlton Stowers
CARLTON STOWERS IS THE AUTHOR OF MORE THAN two dozen nonfiction books, including the Edgar Award-winning Careless Whispers, the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Innocence Lost, and Open Secrets. He has also written two books for children A Hero Named George and Hard Lessons which are being used by elementary schools as part of their drug and gang prevention programs. He and his wife live in Cedar Hill, Texas.
FIVE YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE THAT EARLY SPRING when I sat in a small, almost empty Dallas courtroom and listened as my son pled guilty to murder. The proceedings were mercifully short, lasting no more than ten minutes. I was relieved to see that the brief flurry of interest the media had shown in the case had disappeared. No reporters stood by, taking notes and forming questions to which I still had no wish to respond.
As he was led away, back to the jail cell he would occupy until he was transferred to prison, Anson stopped briefly and turned to where Pat and I sat, the lone visitors in the courtroom. I could not hear him but was able to read his words. Thanks for being here, he said.
With that a part of our lives ended.
Ansons shattered future now promised nothing more than year after year of prison lifes mind-numbing monotony. How much chess and how many card games could one play, how many books couldone read, how much television watching would it take to pass the time of each endless day?
He would be almost forty-five years old before being again eligible for parole. It was a lifetime away, too far in the distance even to contemplate, so out of reach that it would not even serve as hope to hold to in the dark nights and long days to come.
As Pat and I drove from the courthouse that day, we rode in silence much of the way. He looked so small, she finally said. I know it sounds odd, but all I could think of as he was standing there in front of the judge was how small he looked. It was like looking at someone Id never seen before.
She leaned toward me, gently placing her hand on my shoulder. Are you going to be okay?
I nodded, lacking words to explain to her the strange mixture of thoughts racing through my mind. In a way, Annettes was not the only tragic, untimely death that had occurred. With his horrible crime, Anson too had stepped over into that netherworld where all things good rot and die. The son I had once known, loved, and so long agonized over was gone.
Upon our arrival home we stood in the yard for a time, savoring the fresh air of the real world, inhaling the sweet fragrance of late-blooming honeysuckle that floated on the soft breeze and watched as the neighborhood squirrels played games of chase through the trees.
I was proud of him, I said, thinking aloud.
The puzzled look on my wifes face begged an explanation.
What Anson did today was something hes not been able to do most of his life, something Id lost hope of ever seeing again. He finally took responsibilityfor his actions. There was no lying, no effort to place the blame on someone or something else. He admitted his guilt and accepted his punishment.
There was, I knew, a disturbing irony woven into my observation. Why had it taken the worst of all possible situations to bring out what I judged the best in my son?

Slowly, life began to regain a sense of normalcy. The depression that had haunted me began to dissipate only after I did something Id sworn never to do. Though at first skeptical, I finally sought counseling, sharing locked-away feelings with a total stranger for the first time in my life. The antidepressant he prescribed brought sweet, easy sleep for the first time in weeks.
Pat pulled me to midafternoon movies and long evening walks along the same course wed traveled during the aftermath of her bout with cancer. I could not help but marvel at the quiet reversal of roles. Now it was she who chattered optimistically of days to come, talking of anything and everything except the one thing that weighed so heavily on both our minds. Friendssome, I suspect, secretly prompted by calls from my wifephoned with invitations for lunch. As the Christmas season neared, our home took on a festive warmth beyond any that Pat had ever before created. This, she announced, was the year we finally dressed the front yard and ordered me to the task. Soon, passersby saw the cheerful nighttime twinkle of holiday lights, blinking a signal that all was well in the Stowers house. My dad, a bass fisherman with few peers, phoned to remind me that the big onesalways bit in winter weather and insisted that I visit for a few days.
And I began to work again, trying to focus on the realities of deadlines and bills that demanded payment.
To my surprise a time eventually came when thoughts of Anson were so obscured that several days might pass without my dwelling on his fate. Among the most remarkable gifts God had given man, I was learning, were resiliency and a capability to cope and continue on.
For years I had tried, with precious little success, to do what all loving fathers attempt. But no amount of support or discipline, advice or warning, had diverted Anson from his course. Nothing I did properly elevated his ego or convinced him of the worlds goodness. I had never been able to share with him the treasured gift of well-being.
Next page
Light

Font size:

Reset

Interval:

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «Sins of the Son»

Look at similar books to Sins of the Son. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.


Reviews about «Sins of the Son»

Discussion, reviews of the book Sins of the Son and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.