Spellbinding

I wasn't paying attention when I purchased this book. I thought I was getting one of those true crime tomes done by authors like Anne Rule. Nothing wrong with that, but what this book is is so much more.

Once I got past the initial shock of hearing about the author's childhood (not something I thought I was interested in), I settled into what turned out to be a thrilling read. This book is really about that thing in us that allows intelligent, educated and giving individuals to settle for less in love than we deserve. It happens to both sexes and this book is clearly dealing with the subject in depth.

I think the author, Janine Latus, is a genius in coming to relate the horror of her own marriage, the murder of her younger sister and the pain caused by this inability to get out of what surely are horrific relationships.

I don't think I've learned as much from a book in recent years. This is a spellbinding search for our real souls.

6 people found this helpful

Message Lost in Delivery

Such a great opportunity to get a strong message "out there" lost in borderline narcissism. Sigh. Would feel better if Janine had spent less time belaboring the point that they BOTH made bad choices in men (thanks, dad) and more time telling what she's learned. It would turn this from whiny to redemptive! Great narrator, tho!

4 people found this helpful

I felt deceived by this book

I was expecting a true crime book about the murder of the author's sister, maybe about the sister's life what lead to the murder, the trial etc. What it actually was was the story of the douchy men in the author's life, pervy icky dad, physically abusive boyfriends, mentally, emotionally abusive husbands. A life time of abuse and victimization at the hands of me. At chapter 28 when the sister still had not gone missing I checked my library to see if there was another part. There wasn't. While the story was well written and sort of interesting it was not the story that is portrayed in the title or blurb . It is really a memoir that includes the kidnapping of the author's sister, a kidnapping that, frankly, was treated as almost an after thought, only 2-3 chapters even talking about the kidnapping at the very end of the book. I was disappointed

7 people found this helpful

Very quick listen

Overall the story was well told and the narrator-decent. It was quick and easy to follow along with but just not that intersting in my opinion.

3 people found this helpful

All About Janine

The premise is chilling. I wish the author had delved more into why Amy was so into this guy, who was obviously using her. The author seemed to have picked up on the role their father played in forming the daughters' self-esteem, but in my opinion the author still has a long way to go in healing her own self-esteem. Frankly I'd probably have liked Amy a lot better than I would like to get to know Janine Latus. I wouldn't like to be in the same room with her.
I know she has healing to do but her little asides about other people and their inferiority are just astounding!

All through the book, single people are "losers." People who are not as trim, slim, wealthy, attractive and fashionable as Janine and her then-husband are losers too. "We were the couple everyone wanted to be!" Just when you think Latus is going to come down off her perch and be happy to embrace the regular people, she does it again. Horrors, she can't take the job in North Carlina, that's tobacco country and she just knows there won't be any kindred spirits! And when she starts dating again, the dismissive way she rejects guys on the basis of "paunch" and some other externals--all I can say is some of the sweetest, most loving, and supportive non-controlling guys have a little "paunch." I'm not saying Janine deserved her controlling husband--I am just saying she sure comes across as conceited.
How is she going to handle aging if she's that wrapped up in her looks? This book should have been titled "How Superior I, Janine Latus, Am." Maybe her dad made her overcompensate, ego-wise.

10 people found this helpful

Amazing

This book truly moved me and I plan on buying a copy to circulate between my sisters and my friends. There were so many relationship truths in this book, and I found myself saying over and over "I thought that just happened to me." And the story was told in a way that I didn't want to stop listening, I truly enjoyed every minute. If you're a woman, I highly recommend that you read this book and then urge 5 of your friends to read it. If you're a man, read this book to understand how women really feel.

6 people found this helpful

Get the abridged

I expected a different book. I thought it would be about a woman in a situation that leads to her death, about how she dealt with this since she seemed to expect it. BUT it's about the author. For over 10 hours I've listen about this woman's unsettling marriage while the sister, who later turns up missing, participates in phone calls to support her. The book started at age 3 and carries you into her 40's!!! It feels like a 18 chapter introduction. Get the abridged.

5 people found this helpful

Stunning

With, "If I am Missing or Dead", Janine Latus has written a stunning autobiography/biography striking chords that will resonante with her audience for a very long time. Latus weaves a story that interconnects each of the players until the final loss of her sister Amy rips the fabric of all of their lives. She skillfully connects the good with the bad and the comic with the ultimate tragedy. Bravo. This is a masterpiece.

2 people found this helpful

What a tragic life

First thing’s first: this is not a story about Amy’s murder – all that takes place near the end of the book.

This a memoir of an abused woman who’s sister just happened to be murdered and I found it all very interesting; not least because it was a good lesson for me not to be so judgemental.

Her life feels like a train wreck; how (better yet, WHY) does she find and settle for so many losers! But just as I was criticizing her again for the umpteenth time, I realised that compassion for her plight might be a better approach to reading her story. It’s never just about “a bad relationship” but all your life experiences that lead you to it. The scene where she’s at her boyfriend’s place for a Thanksgiving dinner that goes downhill fast is such cautionary tale on many many levels!

She ends the book with a plea for women who recognize themselves in these pages to seek help. Although it was tragic, I felt the effort to share and help others by telling her story was poignant.

1 person found this helpful

Janine Latus' memoir - sisters murder a postscript

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No. I was depressed the whole time I read this book. I was expecting a triumphant tale of taking down the s.o.b. that killed the author's sister but was punched repeatedly with tales of the creepy, criminal, violent, selfish, and controlling men in the author's past. I was saddened by the violence and physical abuse that she suffered. The tale of her failed/ highly dysfunctional marriage was very long and seemed a bit one sided. I hope the author finds health and healing. The story of poor Amy's death was very very sad.
Abuse and violence is always wrong and the author's resource referrals for victims of abuse are greatly appreciated.

Has If I am Missing or Dead turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, but I feel that the title is misleading. This is Janine Latus' memoir punctuated by the "If I am Missing or Dead" story of losing her sister Amy.

Which scene was your favorite?

I like the scene where Janine asks her mother for a large loan to buy a typewriter and her stepfather calls back and refuses to give her the loan. Instead, the expensive typewriter would be a gift from the two of them. Finally! a good man.

Could you see If I am Missing or Dead being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

If the emphasis were on the story of Amy - I would be interested in that.

Any additional comments?

The friends encouragement to "Say goodbye" to Amy was very moving.

1 person found this helpful