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BOOK
ILLUMINATIONS
From Merrimon Book Reviews
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Diary of a Predator: A Memoir
by Amy Herdy
Disturbing
and unforgettable
Finally captured by law
officials in 2005, serial rapist Brent Brents left a long chain of
victims --- male and female, adult and child. Pleading
guilty to eighty charges, Brents received a sentence of 1,509 years,
the longest sentence in Colorado history. Brent Brents granted
Denver Post journalist Amy Herdy an exclusive interview. Though
his letters and interviews, readers hear his story through his own
words. What made Brent Brents the predator he became?
Can a man who committed such monstrous acts ever see others as
something else than someone to manipulate and dominate? Is there
an ounce of humanity left in a man who himself was victimized? IN
DIARY OF A PREDATOR: A MEMOIR, Amy Herdy asks these questions and more.
After an investigative series "Betrayal in the Ranks," for
the Denver Post, a series about sexual assault in the military,
news journalist Amy Herdy turns her vision in a new
direction. Instead of investigating crime from the point of the
view of the victims, she writes from the perspective of the
perpetrator. In addition, the choice of the genre of the memoir
rather than news story expands the author's vision from a detached more
objective style of writing to one that allows for more personal
insights and involvement. DIARY OF A PREDATOR: A MEMOIR is as
much about Amy Herdy's journey as it is a story about Brent Brents and
his sexual crimes. For this reason, readers should approach this
book not as just a true crime story, but a book that makes use of
different genres and writing styles to approach a closer examination of
the perpetrator and the effects that his story has upon the
journalist. While investigating the crimes, the author's
relationship to writing itself changes as she comes to see more closely
the predatory nature of journalism today. Indeed, DIARY OF A
PREDATOR: A MEMOIR challenges the predatory nature of news. Brent
Brents speaks in his own words through letters. Amy Herdy chooses
to respect the subject rather than looking for the next sensational
headline. Because of her integrity, readers catch a closer
glimpse of Brent Brents.
Make no doubt about it: DIARY OF A PREDATOR: A MEMOIR is a difficult
book to read not because of the writing but because of the nature of
the crimes. Amy Herdy does not gloss over the disturbing,
horrifying reality of the crimes Brent Brents committed. Readers
should be prepared. At the same time, Amy Herdy ventures into
territory that might make other readers just as uncomfortable.
Amy Herdy goes beyond the stereotype of the monster. Even the
closeness of the author to the story, a perspective antithetical to
journalism, disquiets a reader. Is he manipulating her too?
Is she too close to the story? In the end, this reader feels that
the author's ability not to distance herself gave this story its daring
force and ability to engage readers on a deeper level. As the
story develops, the reader journeys alongside the author towards a
place of hope. This is a qualified hope, one that does not
dismiss the crimes but is there nevertheless. DIARY
OF A PREDATOR: A MEMOIR is both disturbing and unforgettable.
Weeks after finishing this book, it is as powerful as it was after
finishing the final page. DIARY OF A PREDATOR: A
MEMOIR and the story of Brent Brents challenge readers to face
themselves and their core conflicts between the uneasy and often
conflicting values of crime and humanity, justice and redemption.
However small might be the glimmer of hope, this hope challenges a
reader all the more because the crimes are not excused, the man not
glorified.
Publisher: Vincent
Publishing House (January 16, 2011)
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
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