Postmortem - by Courtney Lund O'Neil (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This gripping and heartfelt work of true crime explores the legacy of John Wayne Gacy's crimes on a family, a community, and the American psyche.

On a December night in 1978, in a pharmacy in Des Plaines, Illinois, teenaged Kim Byers saw her friend Rob Piest alive for the last time when he went out to speak to a contractor named John Wayne Gacy about a possible job. Hours later, Rob became Gacy's final victim. Kim's testimony would be pivotal in convicting the serial killer who assaulted and killed over 30 young men and boys.

Though Kim's daughter, Courtney, grew up far away, she always lived in the shadow of her mother's history. In search of deeper understanding, Courtney and Kim travel back to Illinois. Postmortem transforms their personal journey into a powerful exploration of the ever-widening ripples generated by Gacy's crimes. Layered and thought-provoking, this unique personal narrative is a complex story of loss and violence, grief and guilt, and the legacy that remains long after a killer is caught.

With a new epilogue by the author

Includes 16 pages of photos

About the Author

Courtney Lund O'Neil teaches at the University of California, San Diego and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Glamour, The Washington Post, Oprah Daily, Parents, Chicago Tribune, Harper's Bazaar, and more. The recipient of the Marcia McQuern Award for excellence in Creative Nonfiction and the Marye Lynn Cummings Endowed Scholarship in both Creative Nonfiction and Poetry, she holds a PhD from Oklahoma State University and a MFA from University of California, Riverside. She lives with her husband and children in Southern California and can be found online at CourtneyLundONeil.com.