- Paperback: 168 pages
- Publisher: iUniverse (3 Jun 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0595357016
- ISBN-13: 978-0595357017
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 425,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
 Trade In this Item for up to £45.60
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Almost Home: My Life Story for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £45.60, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Product details |
Product Description
Product Description
<I>Almost Home</I> is a message to you from a faraway place. It is a message from a 12-foot by 9-foot cell in a cinderblock building surrounded by coils of razor wire in the middle of a dirt field in Arkansas. It was written by a young man named Damien Echols and it chronicles his life and his experiences in a way that clearly illuminates him, not as a monster, but as a human being. For over 10 years Damien has been an inmate on death row for a crime he did not commit. He, along with Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley have become known as The West Memphis Three, and though the story of their arrest and conviction is widely known, most people don't know the real people behind the sound bites and the TV news segment clips. Damien has spent much of his time behind bars diligently maintaining his integrity and his sanity by writing.</p> <I>Almost Home</I> is the product of that self-discipline, and in it you will meet someone who has survived an ordeal many of us would find impossible to live through. There are a few who still believe that Damien is a devil-worshipping child killer, but as time passes and more facts rise to the surface, it becomes even more clear that he is the victim of a peculiar species of hysteria. Read this book and know the truth about him. It is an urgent message from death row; the whole story of who Damien Echols really is.</p>
About the Author
A prolific and accomplished writer, poet, and visual artist, Damien Echols has found unexpected inspiration in his grim situation. He currently resides on death row in an Arkansas prison. Innocent of the crime for which he was convicted, Damien continues his fight for freedom.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The story of the West Memphis Three (see www.WM3.org for full case details) is a gripping one. You couldn't write a better story. Although, it is fair to say that some may say 'this is too far-fetched, this could NEVER happen' ... but it DID happen, it is STILL happening.
Damien Echols is no longer the teenager that was incarcerated in the early 70's accused of the brutal murder (along with Jesse Misskelley and Jason Baldwin) of three 8 year old boys. Sometimes the teenager still glows from the pages of this book. The man who's never seen the internet, who's never watched a DVD all because he wore black, read occult books and was viewed with suspicion by a small pocket of the West Memphis community.
This book is an insight into the background of this man. People who want the gory details of his arrest and trial will be sorely disappointed, these are only touched on in the last few chapters, and not in much detail either.
Instead, the story of a young man discovering himself; rebelling,falling in obsessive love, battling with parents (and step-parents) unfolds. We could all have written the first half of the book ... well, most of us. Instead, in the back of your mind, as you read this, you know that Damien Echols is not like us. Damien is a man who has been locked up and had the key thrown away. Damien is a man sitting on death row, waiting for justice to be done.
Before I'd heard about the WM3, I used to joke to my friends that if I was ever suspected in a murder case, and they took a look at my book collection, I would be a prime suspect (let's face it, every killer has had their library records and book collections scrutinised). I stopped making this joke after I read about this case. Because it happened to these boys.
'My Life Story' isn't the best written auto-biography I've ever read, but you connect with the story on so many levels that you forgive him for his naivity and arrogance.
I just wish Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelley were as vocal ...
Damien Echols is no longer the teenager that was incarcerated in the early 70's accused of the brutal murder (along with Jesse Misskelley and Jason Baldwin) of three 8 year old boys. Sometimes the teenager still glows from the pages of this book. The man who's never seen the internet, who's never watched a DVD all because he wore black, read occult books and was viewed with suspicion by a small pocket of the West Memphis community.
This book is an insight into the background of this man. People who want the gory details of his arrest and trial will be sorely disappointed, these are only touched on in the last few chapters, and not in much detail either.
Instead, the story of a young man discovering himself; rebelling,falling in obsessive love, battling with parents (and step-parents) unfolds. We could all have written the first half of the book ... well, most of us. Instead, in the back of your mind, as you read this, you know that Damien Echols is not like us. Damien is a man who has been locked up and had the key thrown away. Damien is a man sitting on death row, waiting for justice to be done.
Before I'd heard about the WM3, I used to joke to my friends that if I was ever suspected in a murder case, and they took a look at my book collection, I would be a prime suspect (let's face it, every killer has had their library records and book collections scrutinised). I stopped making this joke after I read about this case. Because it happened to these boys.
'My Life Story' isn't the best written auto-biography I've ever read, but you connect with the story on so many levels that you forgive him for his naivity and arrogance.
I just wish Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelley were as vocal ...
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Damien Echols is sat on death row for a crime he says he didn't commit. It wasn't hard to make up my mind, the police say he and two friends did it. You decide. While reading this book I laughed and cried. I read it in one day I could not put it down. I challenge you not to have a lump in your throat as he recalls how he cried when he started to get letters of support. It's an American tragedy.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you are interested in this case, you will love this book. It is now 13 years since the murders that happened in 1993. Highly recommend this one.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > True Crime > Murder
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
