Customer Reviews

Sins of the Son

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In his book Carlton Stowers tells us of his son, an irresponsible, self-centered sociopathic monster who would ultimately end up killing his wife in a vicious, drug-induced rage.

What I consider most compelling about Sins of the Son is the writer, Carlton Stowers himself. Carlton's son, Anson, began showing signs of anti-social behavior from a very early age. Gradually, Anson's criminal behavior escalated to more serious crimes as his drug addiction and aggression grew. And every step of the way, dear old Dad is there at the ready, to bail him out, fostering in Anson the belief that personal accountability was something other people had to worry about, not Anson.

For example, when Anson steals Carlton's car, and takes it out to Louisiana and uses it in an armed robbery, what does Carlton do? He flies out and hires him a lawyer. When the boy escapes the Louisiana prison and returns to Texas, Carlton expresses in his book the hope he felt that Anson might be able work out a deal with Texas authorities to serve out his Louisiana time at home in Texas, where Anson might be more comfortable. To his relief, that's just what happened.

After doing just a few years in Texas for the armed robbery charge, Carlton writes in his book of the frustration he felt when his miscreant son did not make parole the very first time up. He even contacts a well-connected Dallas businessman who ends up somehow securing the boy's release. Hello? Your son stole your car and used it when he stuck a loaded shotgun in a woman's face while he robbed her!

Out on parole, Carlton tells us about how he opens his home to Anson, and, ironically, pays for a car for him to use so he can get back and forth to his parole officer's weekly visits. Shortly after that, Anson begins using drugs again. He then ends up moving out and into his girlfriend's apartment. After this point, Carlton makes only the slightest reference in his book to the fact that his drug-addicted son had become physically abusive to his girlfriend, who, against her better judgment, marries him anyway.

The entire book is filled with, "Dad, I'm in a jam, I need some money," or "Dad, can you help me out," or "Dad, I really need a hand, can you spare a few bucks?" Each and every time, the writer maddens his reader by telling of his caving in to his wife-beating son's requests for money, even though the writer confesses he knows much of the money he is handing out is going to pay for drugs!

But nowhere is Carlton's compulsive obsession with his son more evident than when he discusses Anson's wife, whose photo does not appear in the book and whose family is never mentioned even once. He knows his son is physically abusive, beating up his wife, and yet he does nothing. When the inevitable happens and his son finally murders Annette, Daddy Carlton faithfully visits the prison and pays no homage in his book, nothing, to the family of the young woman whose life was snuffed out by his son. Carlton rues the fact that his son was sentenced to sixty years and laments that he won't be eligible for parole until the age of 45. Perhaps the writer ought to be reminded how fortunate it is that he has the opportunity to even reach that age at all. It sure is more than what one can say for his son's victim.

The interesting thing is, this book has been heralded as some kind of "courageous" piece, an "inspiring," and "brave" work. Nonsense. This is the work of cowardly and frankly self-absorbed individual who lacked the courage to admit that his own flesh and blood was a sociopath, a homicidal drug addict whose only rightful place is on death row. Because of the writer's shameless pattern of bailing his son out no matter what he's done, facilitating his freedom to commit the ultimate crime, murder, it's an exceedingly maddening book to read, and an unbalanced and poorly written one at that. I would not recommend this book.

I found the author's lack of insight into his son very troubling. One would think that a true crime writer would have more of a grasp of the human psyche. Like his son the author ran away from problems and saw himself above other people, including his first two wives and his son's wife. How could you not express condolences to the family of a woman who who was part of your family for several years. How could you not protect her, because she was a stripper! I couldn't help but wonder if white privledge wasn't part of the picture but never mentioned.

I've just finished reading this book, and although I found it hard at times to put it down, what struck me when I finished the book was that there is little to no mention of the other family that was affected by the author's son. I understand that the purpose of the book could have been to find out where the father went wrong, but what about some sort of consolation for the family of the murdered victim? Aside from that, the writing was engaging and I look forward to reading more of Carlton Stower's books.

This ia a book written by Carlton Stowers about his own life, and his own son who turns into a murderer. It is SO well done. The book is interesting enough as a true-crime book, but Stowers obviously has the inside information about all of the characters in the book. He is quick to point out mistakes he made as a parent while also acknowledging that he was not at fault for what eventually happened, you can feel the pain he went through for years with his son, and he becomes an even more admirable man once you learn that he fought for his kids and raised them on his own once he was divorced from their mother. Any parent who has ever struggled with an out-of-control child will love this book, any true-crime fan will love this book. I did not want it to end. This one is a must-read!

This book is all about nothing. He could have told this story in one sentence: "The boy went wrong and I don't know why." The father's perspective is overtly self-serving; he mentions many times that he feels no blame & he can't think of anything he ever did wrong. Very little was researched or written about Anson's psyche - except to say "we are stumped". This is a great disappointment. Not one thing was learned or added to me after reading this book, except a distaste for self-exonerating parents. Also, the author mentioned little to nothing of the victim, her parents' grieving, or any of the dynamics involved in the crime itself. It was as if he didn't even know his daughter-in-law, and cared far more about absolving himself from blame than to dig for answers. I'm sorry I wasted my time with this one.

This book is very different from most true crime. Here the author is relating his own experience as the parent of a murderer. He seems to do so fairly honestly, but the underlying attempt to show he has no responsiblity for his son's actions is an annoying feature. His blatant smoothing over of the events of his first marriage which the convict son was born from is quite obvious as well. And it is greatly lacking in sympathy for the victim. Still it is a gripping read and a perspective I don't think we've ever been able to see before about the effects of true crime on families and I can applaud that effort. Makes you wonder what the first Ms Stowers version would have been

I enjoyed the book for both what it said and what it did not. It is clear that our children will do things we have no control over but this author was shunned by two wives (maybe a third) and both sons. He is leaving something out of this book which as the author he can do. For someone so perfect it is amazing that he has no fans in his immediate family. There is a book here for Ashley, Anson or his second wife. Someone should reveal the problems this man clearly has and has chosen to leave out.

This book concentrates primarily on 'victims' - the family of Carlton Stowers, rather than his daughter-in-law Annette, and her family. This is the story of a single parent much like any other, struggling to raise two sons the best way he knew, then desperate to analyse what went wrong when Anson took the wrong path. Torn apart by Anson's lifestyle, his father did everything he could to help, and then some. Inevitably his second born son, Ashley, and his second wife Pat, endured Anson's manipulation and constant upheaval in their lives. As a trusting father, Carlton Stowers was lied to, manipulated, and confused constantly by the actions of his son. Inevitably he reached breaking point and acknowledged that Anson (as do most druggies) destroyed that trust, and was interested only in his next 'fix'. It is important to realise that the author did not make excuses for his son's behaviour, but sought to unravel what led to Anson's downfall. It is a good read.

You'll come away a better person for having read this gripping true story about a father's struggle to relate to a rebellious son and then his realization that the love he has had for the boy throughout the years is all that he can offer. And he gives that love to a young man behind bars for murder as he seeks to find even a tiny thread of the bond that lies between father and son. What rare courage to write, and what insight into the human condition

Since I enjoy dabbling in arm chair psychology, I will give my opinions towards this book. I feel that many of Anson's (Stower's son) problems stemmed directly from the fractured relationship he had with his mother, Jana. She was an immature teen who got pregnant and once her kids reached an age where they really needed to have a bond with her, she abandoned them to be raised by their father. She then continues on her selfish path of making and breaking promises to her children and forgetting holidays like some deadbeat dad. I am sure much of Anson's sociopathic personality traits were inherited from her. I don't think Carlton Stowers glosses over anything he feels he might have done wrong and I think he is too hard on himself. Criminals are not simply formed from negative childhood experiences. This book was gripping and I would highly recommend it.