To the Bridge, Nancy Rommelmann
To the Bridge, Nancy Rommelmann
2 Rating(s)
List: $35.99 | Sale: $25.20
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To the Bridge
A True Story of Motherhood and Murder

Author: Nancy Rommelmann

Narrator: Nancy Rommelmann

Unabridged: 8 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download (DRM Protected)

Published: 07/01/2018

Synopsis

The case was closed, but for journalist Nancy Rommelmann, the mystery remained: What made a mother want to murder her own children?On May 23, 2009, Amanda Stott-Smith drove to the middle of the Sellwood Bridge in Portland, Oregon, and dropped her two children into the Willamette River. Forty minutes later, rescuers found the body of four-year-old Eldon. Miraculously, his seven-year-old sister, Trinity, was saved. As the public cried out for blood, Amanda was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to thirty-five years in prison.Embarking on a seven-year quest for the truth, Rommelmann traced the roots of Amanda’s fury and desperation through thousands of pages of records, withheld documents, meetings with lawyers and convicts, and interviews with friends and family who felt shocked, confused, and emotionally swindled by a woman whose entire life was now defined by an unspeakable crime. At the heart of that crime: a tempestuous marriage, a family on the fast track to self-destruction, and a myriad of secrets and lies as dark and turbulent as the Willamette River.

About Nancy Rommelmann

Nancy Rommelmann has written for the LA Weekly, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times, among other publications. She is the author of several previous works of nonfiction and fiction. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and currently lives in Portland, Oregon. Find out more at nancyromm.com.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Alice on May 16, 2023

The narration style didn’t really work for me (of the actual book, the narration of the audiobook was all right). I felt distant from the characters and often confused, and some parts felt corny and forced. I felt like I couldn’t place the tone. I don’t think it’s a bad book, it just didn’t land wit......more

Goodreads review by thebookybird on November 14, 2024

2.5 I felt adrift and not in a good way......more

Goodreads review by Jane on November 08, 2023

An empathetic look at a family in a time of crisis and a struggling mother-daughter relationship. It is sometimes harrowing but always honest.......more

Goodreads review by Olivia on September 02, 2023

This book sent me through a spiral of emotions throughout. I found it difficult originally to stay invested in the writing style, but the writing was powerful and moving. I felt angry and judgemental at times but reflected on how difficult it must be for a parent raising a child in a world where the......more

Goodreads review by Lynton on December 19, 2023

A quick read- the perfect pace for me coming out of exams. From a mother's POV the story details her relationship with her husband and daughter following a mental health crisis. We hear the mother's own struggles and she leans on a friendly neighbour to get her through the rough patch. Big ending th......more

Quotes

“Rommelmann employs compassion and emotional honesty in her investigation to try to comprehend the motivations behind the crime and its aftermath.” —Publishers Weekly“A painstaking and meticulous exploration of all the facts and conjectures surrounding a disturbing case.” —Kirkus Reviews“[To the Bridge] is a remarkable work: not a whodunit but an inquiry into why. Rommelmann doesn’t find an easy solution, but neither does she settle for platitudes about the unknowability of the human heart.” —Willamette Week

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