Nancy Rommelmann

In 2009, Amanda Stott-Smith threw two of her children over a bridge into the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. This book explores what led up to that moment and wrestles with issues of mental health, domestic violence, and toxic relationships (among several other things). Rommelmann doesn't absent herself from the narrative; this is a surprisingly personal account, and while it was repetitive at times and hard to read due to the subject matter and circumstances of this messed-up family, show more I am glad to have read it. Our responses to such horrific crimes can be very simplistic, and Rommelmann captures the nuances that exist in even the most heinous of cases, without turning it into an apologia.

3 stars show less

It is easy to say a mother killing her children is a monstrous and heinous act, but what leads up to that point? Was it preventable, is it 100% her fault, what was life like for the children and the mother who commits this crime? To The Bridge examines Amanda's life, her children's, Trinity, Eldon, and Gavin, and her husband's, Jason, lives before she threw 2 of her kids off of a bridge causing one to die. This book doesn't lessen Amanda's crimes, but you end up understanding her reasoning show more somewhat. You actually end up feeling some compassion for Amanda through Nancy's blunt, but thoughtful writing, because Nancy is also trying to understand her mixed emotions. show less

I feel so sorry for the kids, and there are many of them, who have come up losers in the big parent lottery, but most kids don't have to pay with their lives even though they are affected all their lives. But there are those especially heinous situations where a child is murdered. And that's what happened here.

The mother in this story threw 2 or her 3 children off a bridge in the middle of the night. The author tries to find out why, tries to discover details beyond the headlines. And she show more does so, to some extent. There are no clear answer. Yes, she had a horrible husband whose behavior ultimately contributed to the tragedy. He sounds like a horrible human being who should never have had children. And the mother should never had children. She was a selfish person who spiraled in a downward abyss of her own making.

There is quite a bit of information about possible motives, but there is no real answer. I wanted to understand this woman better, and I do to an extent, but this book did not cause me to forgive her for what she did.

The book, while interesting, did seem to me to have too much padding, with repetition of information. It also jumped around quite a bit, and some of the sentence structures were a bit unclear. It was still worth reading although it leaves me sad for the children and angry with the adults whose most important job was to protect them. show less

This is the true story of Amanda Stott-Smith who threw her 2 young children off a bridge. Very well written and also read by the author. The only complaint I have is that just a couple of times the story was disjointed..she interviewed somebody 10 years after the crime just relating Amanda's behavior as she was imprisoned. Perhaps I wasn't listening close enough? 292 pages