Eight Bullets: One Woman's Story of Surviving Anti-Gay Violence - Softcover

Brenner, Claudia; Ashley, Hannah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1563410559 ISBN 13: 9781563410550

Publisher: Firebrand Books, 1995

Synopsis

The lesbian victim of a violent hate crime that left her seriously wounded and her partner dead is the story of family and community, the medical system, the police and courts, and the media--and of one woman's incredible courage. Simultaneous. IP.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

On May 12, 1988, Claudia Brenner and her companion, Rebecca Wight, parked their car on Dead Woman's Hollow Road before starting on a hike on a part of the Appalachian Trail that runs through Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania. The next night, Friday the 13th, Brenner would make a four-mile hike out?this time alone and with five bullet wounds, four in her head and neck. Just two bullets had hit Wight, but one destroyed her liver and killed her. This is Brenner's recollection of the attack; of the hunt for her assailant, Stephen Roy Carr; her recovery; and her activism against anti-gay crimes. The bare outlines of Brenner's story are very powerful, but awkward writing and unnecessary switching of perspective from first person to a wildly omniscient third person ("Anne wished she could be at Hershey [Medical Center] that second.... Anne pushed a picture of Claudia's face with bullet holes in it out of her head") weaken it. More disturbing are Brenner's assumptions of homophobia, even on the part of two policemen who by all accounts acted honorably ("Although they were no less homophobic than the average state trooper, their units no more enlightened, they became committed to me, a lesbian crime victim and my lesbian family.") Without more supporting evidence, this kind of aside amounts to stereotyping, which Brenner, of all people, should abhor.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

In May 1988, on the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania, a horrific shooting attack left 28 year old Rebecca Wight dead. Her partner, Claudia Brenner, was seriously wounded. In Eight Bullets: One Woman's Story Of Surviving Anti-Gay Violence, Claudia Brenner writes a profoundly personal, emotionally riveting, politically energizing account of the murder and its aftermath: her path to recovery and activism. Eight Bullets is about a lesbian victim of a violent hate crime, her family and community, as they grapple with trauma, the medical system, the police nd courts, the media. It is about the realities of homophobia (in the world and in themselves) and the existence of friends and strangers willing to work together to seek justice and healing. Most of all, it is about one woman's courage and determination after encountering the unspeakable. Claudia Brenner explores both her pain and the redemptive power of love an shared commitments in this deeply affecting book. In the process, she offers inspiration for our own struggles. Eight Bullets stands as a testament and as a warning. The testament to courage in the face of loss. The warning: The price of freedom is a blood price. Only by uniting together can we survive together. -- Midwest Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Firebrand Books
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 1563410559
• ISBN 13: 9781563410550
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 216