Eight Bullets: One Woman's Story of Surviving Anti-Gay Violence [Paperback]

Claudia Brenner (Author), Brenner (Author), Hannah Ashley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1995

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.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

When Brenner and her lover, Rebecca Wight, took a three-day camping trip on the Appalachian Trail in 1988, they planned on hiking, privacy, rest, and relaxation. Instead, while they made love in a secluded woodland, Stephen Roy Carr--a stranger to them--spied on them from concealment in a nearby thicket and then gunned them down, killing Wight (Brenner survived five wounds, four in the head and neck). Brenner's gripping account of those events and their aftermath leaves our nerves pulsing and raw and constitutes powerful testimony at a time--the present--when hate crimes against members of specific minorities are increasing and domestic terrorism seems to touch everyone's life. Perhaps Brenner's compelling book will also have TV talk show hosts busy with hate-crime programming, but it definitely deserves a place in any true crime or public affairs collection. Whitney Scott --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Firebrand Books (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563410559
• ISBN-13: 978-1563410550
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #223,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Biographies & Memoirs > Lesbian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!, December 23, 2002

By 

"punkinbutt92981" (Iowa City, IA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eight Bullets: One Woman's Story of Surviving Anti-Gay Violence (Paperback)

This book was a heart wrenching read. I could identify and feel for the characters. This is one find that all lesbians should have on their shelves, and that all people alike should read. The only complaint I have is that at times it seems like the main character is a little emotionless in her writing. Other than that, I would highly recommend this book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, April 28, 2000

By 

B. Pasquale "BP74" (PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eight Bullets: One Woman's Story of Surviving Anti-Gay Violence (Paperback)

Being from PA and no stranger to the AT I found this book intriguing. The reader is drawn in and bears witness to a senseless crime and it's aftermath. Ms. Brenner's description of the day of the incedent,from camping to shooting to escape is heartstopping. I guess my only disappointment in this book was my desparate need to know why Carr shot at Brenner and Wight in the first place. His defense tried to use the excuse that the sight of 2 lesbians being intimate was enough to insight violence. Especially if you were sexually abused as a child. I just couldn't make the connection with that excuse. We are never really privy to the truth. Though I suppose neither were Brenner and Wight.

5.0 out of 5 stars Outside of your own 4 walls, you are never alone!, April 7, 2010

By 

K. Miller (Naples, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Eight Bullets: One Woman's Story of Surviving Anti-Gay Violence (Paperback)

I've wanted to read this book since I heard about it on WXPN 88.5 radio in Philadelphia back about 15 years ago. I finally bought it before Christmas 2009 and just picked it up to read this weekend. It was an amazing read - I could NOT put it down. It just confirmed for me that if you are gay/lesbian that you are NEVER alone outside of your own 4 walls! We are never truly "safe" anywhere we go. Things may have changed a teeny tiny bit since then but really not near enough. Stephen Roy Carr's name will forever be engrained in my brain. What was it that made him think that since he never found love that he should take someone else's? I think the book was wonderfully written and it's something every person should read.