Forgiving the Dead Man Walking [Hardcover]

Debbie Morris (Author), Gregg Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

By powerfully illustrating the power of forgiveness in a fallen world, this first-person account is compelling in its narration of a remarkable young woman's physical, emotional, and spiritual survival following her abduction and rape, as portrayed in the movie Dead Man Walking.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Already familiar to readers from the movie Dead Man Walking, this horrifying crime story, related here by one of the victims, becomes an inspiring morality tale of one woman's redemption. In 1980, Morris, then a 16-year-old high school junior in tiny Madisonville, La., was parked with her boyfriend, Mark Brewster, along the Tchefuncte riverfront sipping a milkshake when two men suddenly appeared. Mark and Debbie were kidnapped: he was tortured and left for dead, while she was terrorized and raped repeatedly. With extraordinary presence of mind, she managed, incredibly, to talk her captors into letting her go. The aftershock, however, lasted for years: her relationship with Mark deteriorated; she dropped out of high school; and she suffered recurring claustrophobic fears. Her abductors, Robert Lee Willie and Joe Vaccaro, were captured, and Debbie aided the prosecution in its successful bid for the death penalty for Willie for the earlier rape/ murder of Faith Hathaway. After the trial, she discovered, "Justice doesn't really heal all the wounds." Her true path toward healing was hard won: She's often angry?at Sister Helen Prejean's attentions to Willie ("Where was the help I needed when I felt so alone?"), at her family, at God ("I'd found it easier to forgive Robert Willie than it was to forgive God"). But at the end of a journey that rings true and intensely human, she looks to her husband, son and new life and ceases to see herself as a victim, but instead as a survivor. (Sept.) FYI: Morris's story first appeared on a Frontline segment titled "Angel on Death Row."
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

For years after, she was known only as the "l6-year old from Madisonville," who had been talking with her boyfriend, Mark, when Robert Willie and Joseph Vaccaro kidnapped them. Mark was tortured and shot but survived, and Morris was repeatedly raped but eventually got out alive. Willie and Vaccaro were captured and Morris tried to move on with her life, eventually marrying and having children but always living with hurt and resentment. When the movie Dead Man Walking was made, she contacted Sister Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking, LJ 6/15/93), the nun who counseled Robert Willie in prison and who was the focus of much of Debbie's anger. After speaking with Sister Helen, however, Morris was able to use her Christian beliefs to learn to forgive. Although Morris does include details of her awful ordeal, this is more a personal reflection on human nature than a traditional true-crime book. The writing is somewhat self-conscious and stilted in spots, but that only gives the story a much more human and vulnerable feel. For larger public libraries.?Christine A. Moesch, Buffalo & Erie Cty. P.L., NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 251 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; 1ST edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310222656
• ISBN-13: 978-0310222651
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #925,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The other side of the story to Dead Man Walking, December 8, 2004

By 

R. Martin "boblaura9" (Mauldin, sc United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forgiving the Dead Man Walking: Only One Woman Can Tell the Entire Story (Paperback)

If you have read Dead Man Walking, you really MUST read this book also! It is the other side of the story. Please consider reading it.

This book is written by the victim Debbie Morris. She takes you through her life (before and after the crime) and how she went on after being the victim of such a horrific ordeal. She ultimately found peace by forgiving Robert Willie. The parents of another girl that had been victimized and murdered by Robert Willie were the opposite of forgiving - they were filled with rage, hate and bitterness. The contrast between Debbie's response and their response really stood out to me. Debbie found peace and they did not...

This book also gives a different perspective on Robert Willie than the one given by Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking. Debbie portrays Willie as being the one in control. He was domineering, the leader, and heavily influenced his partner in crime Joe Vaccaro. In Prejean's book, Willie is portrayed rather the opposite!! (Should we be surprised that someone on deathrow might not honestly describe themselves?)

Overall, this is a well-written book about the power of a forgiving spirit. Please consider reading it to get both sides of the story of Dead Man Walking.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Inspiring Story : An Incredible Woman, December 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Forgiving the Dead Man Walking (Hardcover)

I just recently returned from a convention of youth workers where Debbie Morris was one of our General Session speakers. To hear her story, then read it, is a powerful experience. When she spoke, there were close to 5,000 people in an exhibition hall which served as our main staging location -- as she spoke, you could have heard a feather drop in the room. Whether hearing Debbie speak, or reading her book, issues surrounding forgiveness are almost sure to surface. Please read this book for yourself, and for those in your life who need to hear this message of the power of forgivness.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1st hand truth, July 11, 2005

By 

Cori "Rapunzel's sissors" (Deep South - United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forgiving the Dead Man Walking (Hardcover)

I remember this crime all too well. My cousin (Mark) was Debbie's boyfriend. I was only 9 at the time, but I remember the frantic phone call from my aunt and my dad joining other members of our family as they drove through town looking for Debbie and Mark. I will never forget overhearing the details of the wake of horror that Robert Willie left behind.

Debbie's book is full of courage, honor, and forgiveness. If should be in every victim assistance program and every victim of crime should read it. If you've read Dead Man Walking, you owe it to yourself to read this as well as Mike Varnado's book (he was the investigator who found Faith Hathaway's body). Helen Prejean cannot tell you about the "real" Robert Willie... only his survivor can.