Gone Boy: A Walkabout

"Gone Boy: A Walkabout" by Gregory Gibson How often over the past couple of decades or so have we been shocked by the news of shootings on campus? Innocent lives taken by a gunman or gunmen who feel they are in the right, seeking some sort of irrational justice. Too many times.Here is the story of one father, trying to make some sort of sense of why his son,away at college,fell dead,victim to these senseless crimes. Shortly before Christmas, Gregory Gibson is awakened by a call. There's been a shooting on campus. his son is dead. Like any parent, the first reaction is disbelief. You must be wrong, there is some sort of mistake. We can't even pretend to imagine the thoughts going through his mind, but the devastation of losing a child, and in such a violent way,is easily understandable. His family and family life styles are forever changed. All grieving in their own way. After going through the motions of burying his son,he takes a journey back in time to find the truth of what really happened that day. The killer has been tried and convicted. But it's not enough, someone or something must be to blame for taking his precious son from him. He throws himself into the case. Digging up info in every corner,for future notes for a book he will write about it. But pretty soon the reader questions whether he is doing this for himself, a book, or has his fact finding mission turned into an obsession. Perhaps it is his way of grieving. And he won't stop the search until the time to grieve is done, and the time to heal is upon him. Keeping in mind that this is not a journalist writing this story,but the father of the murdered victim, the journey is flowing with human emotion. On top of that he is stymied by legalities and unanswered questions. Why didn't the school officials do something when a package clearly marked "arms" came through the mail room. Where was security when a warning call was made? What about the gun seller, does he bear any responsibility for all this? Gibson's quest to find the truth takes him down roads and side roads, and still more as he unravels each step it took for his son to be gunned down in cold blood.He tries to get into the gunman's head,even going as far as to meet with his parents. After years of searching can he finally put it to rest? We all grieve in our own way. This is one man's story. One that is honest, poignant, and sometimes you feel that his wry sense of humor is something that helped him through.All though a few times, I felt some of the descriptions( the various guns,etc) went on a little too much, it is a memoir that will pull you in and put you at the crime scene and the aftermath, and may even evoke a little of the sadness and rage he must of felt. With this book, Gibson not only gets his own story out, but may actually help anyone in similar situations to know that they are not alone in what they feel and think. Recommended reading........Laurie

Gregory Gibson was awakened by every parents' worst nightmare...his son, Galen, has been shot and killed on the campus of the small college he was attending. Once the shock wore off, the only way he could cope and manage his grief was to go on a walkabout..a trip to discover the facts behind his son's senseless murder. As he sets out on his journey of discovery he lets us in on how he feels, how is family is handling the loss, the motives behind the quest. The very fact that he keeps changing and refocusing the intent of his search is a story of coming to terms with a senseless act and the finality of death. It is heartbreaking to hear him discribe his wife. Annie, as she finds comfort in the world of Publishers' Clearing House mailers, his children begin to venture out into the world. As the story unfolds, and Mr. Gibson finds more and more truth about Galen's death, he also comes in contact with the many people who had an unwitting role in his son's death, hears their story and the pain they also feel. People are not as you might think. It is a sad fact of life that many of the horrors of life do not have a pat explination ...sometimes we have to accept that evil does walk among us, and we try not to succumb to it's pull. It is a a triumph of spirit.

Gibson writes poignantly about how he processes the death of his son. The book (thankfully) doesn't purport to offer answers. It does raise questions. About random violence, about life's over-arching plan and our place in it. On the whole, although Gibson unquestionably describes his own emotions, including anger, I found the book itself remarkably un-preachy and un-angry. I attended Simon's Rock, but many years before these tragic events, and the book should certainly transcend any particular readership. It's about a safe place. Any place, whether it's a town, or a school, or a secure place inside of you that you never imagine will be shaken. It's about what happens when without reason or warning you discover that the place is not inviolable. A timely and thought-provoking read.

I was a friend of Galen's (Greg's son) at Simon's Rock. While this book was very helpful to me in filling in the details of the events that led up to Galen's murder, and in helping me confront my own issues of sadness and anger surrounding the issue, I feel this book is an important read for people who were not involved as well. I hope a lot of people read it. I hope the parents of children who have been victims of shootings around the country (there have been too many, Littleton sticks out because of the scale, but I recall the stories if not the towns of several more over the last 2-3 years...) also read it, and maybe it will help them, too... and give them an idea of quests they could embark upon to help them with their grief. I hope the public at large reads this book and understands that there are deep, complex stories behind every shooting spree that appears on the television news. Maybe this book will inspire more people to humanize these issues in the media and political arenas. Finally, I hope this book brings a little bit of my friend, Galen, to a world of readers who can glimpse just a bit of the person who was so prematurely taken from this world... (Note: I disagree with the reader who gave this book one star, it was not an angry book, though Greg does discuss his anger, and his personal psychological journey that is part of his overall "Walkabout"... and it is only as fragmented and uneven as the real-life story behind it, it is an honest approach, it is well written, and it works...)

The event which occasioned Gone Boy was the murder of young, bright Galen Gibson; but this is no ordinary book about crime, about grief, or about a father's and a family's struggle to come to grips with what must be the most unimaginable of losses. Gregory Gibson opens himself to us as few can or would, and Gone Boy transcends all the theoretical books about loss and unfairness and grief and all the self-help books as well. There is no theory here, no theology of loss, but by showing us the range of his thoughts and emotions we come to understand not only his struggle but ourselves and the nature of grief as well. Gibson's voice is clear, direct, and his own; Gone Boy would be the best book of its kind if there were other books of its kind, but it stands by itself and should be read.