A Serial Killers Daughter

Thoughts

I was expecting a book on BTK and I got a book written by Kerri Rawson. I’m glad I did. I think I fell into the majority of readers, who book a book looking to hear about her dad’s stories from her point of view. What I didn’t end up realizing is just how hard that would even be to fathom and write about. I’ll never be able to understand what Kerri has gone through and even that perspective on any of the murders.

Kerri is stronger than I would have ever imagined for the daughter of a serial killer. Her book details her experiences growing up with Dennis Rader, her dad aka B.T.K. She didn’t have any different of a childhood from the rest of “us”. All of her experiences sounded just the same as my childhood. There’s a lot to go into throughout the book, but I realized that it’s not a story about BTK, but about Kerri and her strength as she realizes and just comes to grips with the reality of her father. I didn’t think I’d want to learn about the daughter of a serial killer, but I am glad that I did.

Kerri tells her side of the story from growing up, living at home, and most importantly showing the fatherly and family man side of Dennis Rader. Coming to grips with that reality, and trying to piece of all those experiences together with the lives that he ruined and her own, is something none of us could ever cope with. I applaud Kerri’s writing and her strength to even challenge a feat like this.