I’m an old guy now, but as a kid in Brooklyn I was, as my attorney once said, less than well-informed when it came to the nature of legal and illegal behavior. Nobody died because of me, but my work for the neighborhood mafia guys, who were people I simply knew as uncles, aunts, and friends of the family, often took me outside the law. Funny thing about stepping outside the law. People who do it usually stay there until they get caught. I … [Read more...]
The Face Of Abuse
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TRUTH. THIS IS THE FACE OF ABUSE. When you are a victim of domestic violence you remain silent. You endure your abuse under the false beliefs that it will end. That it's not really that bad. Tomorrow will be better. The truth is that you become more and more fearful and even more vulnerable. You begin to believe all that your abuser says about you, and you become so frail and extremely weak minded that you actually become the … [Read more...]
Joni Ankerson Discusses How Victims Of Abuse Are Labeled
Let us be realistic and admit that making the decision to take your abuser’s life and breath is not that of a weak and wrecked woman. That decision, that action comes at the exact moment when your entire being says “no more.” It is the moment when a woman decides to move forward and save her life. Women who have killed their abusers are not murderers, they are simply women who want to LIVE. Unfortunately, these women are placed on the same … [Read more...]
TO KILL OR BE KILLED: A True Crime Memoir Of Domestic Violence, Survival, And A Prison Sentence
Twelve years of domestic violence at its absolute worst. Constant abuse, control, manipulation, and threats. It had to end some day, some way. The day we met in October of 1997, I was working at the District Court in Traverse City, Michigan as a Deputy Clerk. It was like most other days with arraignments, sentencings, civil case hearings and the like. People shuffling in and out, everyone taking care of their important business with court … [Read more...]
Book Trailer for TO KILL OR BE KILLED
Official book trailer for the true crime book, To Kill or Be Killed by Joni Ankerson. Learn more and get your copy here: wbp.bz/tkobka Available in paperback and ebook. Obviously, I knew better than to take a life — but that was before. Before him. The day we met in October of 1997, I was working at the District Court in Traverse City, Michigan as a Deputy Clerk. It was like most other days with arraignments, sentencings, civil case … [Read more...]
Joni Ankerson
Joni Ankerson lives in her hometown of Traverse City, Michigan. After being released from prison in April of 2017, she returned home to the house she grew up in and is moving forward with her new, independent life. She is a strong advocate for victims of domestic violence and has many family members, friends and community members that support her and stand behind her. She hopes that by sharing her story, other victims will gain the … [Read more...]
HOW NOW, BUTTERFLY? A Mother’s Struggle After Her Son Murders Her 4-Year-Old Daughter
A mother recounts her unthinkable experience after her thirteen-year-old son murders his little sister-and her struggle to emerge from devastation. Losing a young daughter to murder is the worst nightmare that a mother could possibly imagine-but what if the killer was her son? Charity Lee was thrust into this unimaginable situation when her thirteen-year-old son, Paris, murdered her beloved four-year-old daughter, Ella. Charity goes through … [Read more...]
Charity Lee
Charity Lee Photo Credit: Ben Easter Charity Lee is the subject of the award-winning documentary The Family I Had, which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Fest, and has been distributed worldwide and viewed by millions. She is the author of her memoir, How Now, Butterfly?, that tells her tale of Hell and back. Charity is the daughter of a murdered father, daughter of an acquitted mother, mother of a murdered daughter, and mother of a … [Read more...]
Jeff Morris On Why He Chose To Write LEGION RISING
To be completely honest, it still does not seem real to me to have written a book about my life and experiences. After all, it’s my life. It’s what I’ve lived and to me, it’s normal with nothing special about it. Why in the world would someone be interested in reading something about me? Yet here we are. The seed was first planted during my first deployment by a writer who was in Iraq for a project. It was early 2005 and I took him out on … [Read more...]
MOTHERS AND MURDERERS: A True Story by Pulitzer Prize Winner Katherine Ellison
"A dark jewel" - Jacquelyn Mitchard, bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean Mothers & Murderers: A True Story of Love, Lies, Obsession … and Second Chances takes readers on a wild tragicomic ride from the criminal courtrooms of California’s Silicon Valley to the Himalayan mountains of Pakistan to the deserts of Ethiopia. In delightful, insightful prose, Ellison reflects on her mistakes and her triumphs as she weaves together the … [Read more...]
