Durante 10 anos, a família lidou com a dor da perda e com o pesadelo de um processo judicial cheio de enganos, com os ataques da comunicação social e com o esquecimento das vidas que se perderam. Remember that in the US, it is not a crime for the police to lie to you about what they know and what "evidence" they have. Although it was never officially accredited as a landmark, the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was widely recognized as one, and the city of Madison was loathe to have it torn down.

I also didn't leave with much insight into the case and the police work that was actually done to pursue and find the perpetrators. Tom saw his cousins pushed to there death, and even though fully aware he might lose his life Tom Cummins still jumped over 80 feet to try and save his cousins. Most glaringly, she almost entirely glosses over claims of police abuse made by two of the defendants.Being somewhat nosy, and a former defense attorney, and an imbiber of intoxicating beverages, I have talked to him about this particular incident, and this book. A Rip in Heaven is Jeanine Cummin's story of a night in Apriol 1991, when her two cousins Julie and Robin Kerry and her brother, Tom, were assaulted on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River just outside of St. She can tell from firsthand experience how she and her family reacted to the deaths of the cousins and the arrest of her brother.

I didn't feel like I learned about Robin and Julie (as the afterword said was a large part of the book's purpose). I felt she did best in eulogizing her cousins and describing how their passionate belief in equality and justice inspired and guided the rest of the family in dealing with the aftermath of their murders. Both families grew up in encouraging environments, allowed to express themselves through what they do, like drawing or writing poetry. The quote from A Rip in Heaven, "In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer," speaks to the incredible resilience and strength that lies within each individual, even in the darkest of times.The river moans and sighs, Swallows my memoiries, And spits back currents of regret, To drown careless swimmers, 'Neath onion's shield, She sheds saltless tears, Howling at the moon. the heart of this story - the facts - and heartbreaks —stands out above and beyond the writing tactics anyway. Do you think peer pressure and a desire for acceptance motivate any of the men who committed this crime?

I’m not sure if I struggled with the book because of the vivid storytelling or the fact that the victims were teenagers who were innocent and naive to what was about to happen to them. Jeanine Cummins tells of the tragic true story that took place in my hometown about her brother and her two female cousins who were victims of crime and murder.

This is rather surprising, since the resultant criminal trials are perhaps the most complex and interesting facet of the whole case. Although nobody could possibly have anticipated the horror that they would experience on the night of April 4th, 1991. It is also clear that she kept up with the case over the years, watching the trials, talking to the attorneys, and closely monitoring the toll a criminal case can take on a victim’s family. One of the family members survives the tragedy, but continued to go through attacks by the local authorities and the media by making false accusations.