Two books have left considerable impressions on me at different phases of my life. The first was Zlata's Diary. She began writing in her diary in the fifth grade, and the entries span over a two-year period, while she was living in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. I just remember reading her accounts of the violence, the bombings, etc. and then comparing her life at that age, to my life at that age and realizing how fortunate I was to live where I lived and to be so far removed from war. The other book that I could barely stomach reading and remember considerable tears as I turned each page was called "A Rip In Time" -- WARNING: this is not a beach read. This was required reading for a fantastic Criminology class I took during my undergrad at UMCP.
The book tells the story of a murder that occurred April 1991 during a family vacation to St. Louis. Tom, 19, and his two female cousins were attacked while walking on the abandoned Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. The girls were raped, and the four assailants pushed the three cousins off of the bridge. Tom was the only survivor, and quickly became the key suspect.The majority of the memoir is written by Tom's sister, Jeannine. She wanted to give her brother a voice -- he was considered a suspect and treated like one at a time when he was in severe need of comfort. The media also played an integral role in how Tom was perceived for years to come even after the actual perpetrators were found guilty. He still had this stigma around him due to false reports when the whole time he was just a victim. The book really made me question the justice system and served as a heartbreaking reminder of how sometimes you can be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Our professor even arranged for Tom's sister to come in and talk to us about the whole ordeal. Despite being a tough read, the overall experience was life-changing.
