REVIEW Dear Sister by Michelle Horton

 

I was told about this book by a friend of mine and I'm glad that she told me about it.  Wow. Just wow. Michelle's sister is Nikki Addimando - I had heard about her case on Women and Crime but hadn't heard of the book that Michelle wrote about it. 

Michelle was a newly single mom, who was getting ready to go to her job, when the police knocked on her door to tell her that Nikki had been arrested for the murder of Chris Grover, Nikki's partner and the father of her children. Michelle's novel focuses on the past, Nikki's case,  how she manages in caring for two new children unexpectedly (including how to explain what happened to their parents) as well as her massive, heavy amounts of guilt for failing to see what was happening to her sister. Her novel also tries to introduce us to how women that are the victims of intimate partner violence and other abuses are further abused by the criminal justice system, and the penal system in particular.  Many of these victims don't have any resources, let alone the resources that Michelle was able to gather for her sister (which included money, childcare and legal representation, as well as publicity when appropriate). 

We learn of Nikki's abuse incrementally, as Horton learns of it. It is often very difficult to read and learn about, so if it will trigger you I would not recommend reading this book. It's very brutal at times. I liked how Michelle wrote this book. She often grounded the present experiences in Nikki's trials with stories about the generations of women in her family, as well as her own experiences growing up. 

This is a massively important and eye opening book that everyone should read and it was wonderfully written and bravely too.