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A Silence of Mockingbirds: Memoir of a Murder by Karen Spears Zacharias
A Silence of Mockingbirds: Memoir of a Murder is the 2012 One Book One Community choice. Investigative journalist and author Karen Spears Zacharias never anticipated that she would become one of the characters involved in a high-profile murder. But when she reconnects with a young woman named Sarah, who lived in the Zacharias home at one time and was treated like family, Karen discovers that something unspeakable has happened to Sarah's daughter, Karly. Compelled to consider her own culpability in this tragic case, Karen pieces together what happened to Karly through court documents, investigators' interviews, and interviews with friends, family, law enforcement officials, and key witnesses. As the terrible story unfolds, the hard question emerges for everyone involved, indeed all of us: Why was no cry raised to protect Karly? This is also the story of a father's unrelenting love for his daughter, an immigrant's tragic struggle for redemption, and a journalist's urgent call for change.
In the News
- "One Book Pick Focuses on Children" - Baton Rouge Advocate (June 4, 2012)Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden said Saturday this year’s One Book One Community summer reading selection — “A Silence of Mockingbirds: The Memoir of a Murder” — offers a “major call” for all residents to “protect children.”
- "Why I Had to Write about the Murder of Karly Sheehan" by Karen Spears ZachariasRead this Huffington Post blog entry by Zacharias on the importance of Karly's story.
- San Francisco Police Officers Association Reviews A Silence of MockingbirdsThe book is "a very personal and emotional declaration of the need for all Americans, everywhere, to learn more about what should be done for children who exhibit suspicious physical injuries."
- Shelf Awareness Review by Cherie Ann ParkerFreelance journalist and book critic Cherie Ann Parker reviews A Silence of Mockingbirds.
- Interview with Karen Spears Zacharias on the Diane Rehm ShowWatch an interview with author Zacharias on the Diane Rehm Show on April 25, 2012.
- "Murder Repeats Itself" by Karen Spears Zacharias
- "Child Abuse Here, Everywhere": June 14, 2012Read this letter to The Advocate by Robin Kistler, co-chair of One Book One Community.
- "Read One Book: The Silence of Mockingbirds - This Summer Read Could Save a Life"Read this article about our One Book pick in the July 2012 issue of Country Roads magazine.
Book Trailer - A Silence of Mockingbirds
One Book One Community
About the Author
Photo credit: Stephen Savage (http://www.savagepictures.com/)
Karen Spears Zacharias writes about real people and the issues that really matter to them.
Her work has been featured in the Huffington Post, New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Newsweek, National Public Radio, Relevant Magazine, Christianity Today, and CNN.
Karen teaches journalism at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wa., and blogs at Patheos.com. A vocal advocate for veterans and military families, Karen’s father was killed-in-action, Vietnam, 1966.
While serving as the writer-in-residence at the Fairhope Center for the Writing Arts, Fairhope, Al., Karen wrote A Silence of Mockingbirds: The Memoir of a Murder, a true crime tale of the murder of Karly Sheehan of Corvallis, Oregon.
For more information about Zacharias, visit her website at http://karenzach.com/.
Book Buzz
"A Silence of Mockingbirds is beautifully written by a very talented investigative journalist. But, even more, this is Karen Zacharias's own story too, one of trust betrayed. A tragic book that we should all take to heart. We cannot change the past but we can save children who are in peril now. Karen has given us Karly's legacy, that of a small, bright spirit who loved and was loved. And yet destroyed by heedless caretakers. A must read. Compelling and heartbreaking." -Ann Rule, New York Times-bestselling author
"Karen Zacharias has filed a crime story readers won't put down and will never forget. A Silence of Mockingbirds will open eyes, raise voices, and save lives." -Winston Groom, New York Times-bestselling author
"Riveting. Brilliantly plotted. I couldn't put it down. A Silence of Mockingbirds will fill your eyes with tears, make you mad, and hopefully make you act." -Robert Dugoni, New York Times-bestselling author
"Karen Spears Zacharias has written a compassionate and comprehensive story of how abuse affects us all." -Sara O'Meara, Chairman & CEO, and Yvonne Gedderson, President of CHILDHELP
"A Silence of Mockingbirds is an important book. The message has stayed with me. We are all family. This true story shines a laser beam on how children are failed in America by the very systems and people that exist to protect them. Shame on us!" -Wanda Jewell, Executive Director, Southeast Independent Booksellers Association (SIBA)
"A Silence of Mockingbirds is a must read for anyone interested in child abuse, father's rights, or both." -Robert Franklin, journalist and writer for Fathers and Families
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