A Father's Story

By: Lionel Dahmer

Narrated by: Scott R. Pollak

Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Raising a serial killer

Father's search for answers

In July of 1991, the country was shocked by the unfathomable crimes of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. But no one was more shocked than his parents. In A Father's Story, the listener becomes witness to the incremental unraveling of a parent's image of their child, and the "thousand different reactions" that follow. In his attempt to understand the nature of his son's psychosis, Lionel Dahmer methodically scrutinizes every possible contributing factor to his son's madness. His desperation is palpable as he searches for clues in the emotional, psychological, and genetic landscape of his son's life.

Riveting and soul-wrenching, this unprecedented memoir is the confession of a father who must "confront the saddest truth a human can know—that his child has somehow crossed the line that separates the human from the monstrous".

©1991 Lionel Dahmer (P)2022 Licensing Management, Inc.

Sad, heartbreaking for all involved in Jeff’s life.

I feel Jeff’s Dad did his best to be introspective and honest about the role he may have played in his sons demented life. He seems to be as baffled as the rest but is willing to explore where he figures into this somewhat. I finished the book wanting to be more watchful of my own children and fully engaged. He was loyal to his son. Great book and wonderfully narrated.

Can't make it past narrator whistling noises

Just like another reviewer stated, the narrator makes dreadful whistling sounds as he speaks, making it impossible for me to listen. For others who are bothered by such, recommend reading this instead of the audio book. Bummer because I prefer audio books.

Interesting

It was interesting to hear the fathers side of the story. He does not have an easy life.
I think there were many signs he and others missed, or chose to ignore along the way.

A Father’s Story

I enjoyed this book. It was well-written, and it gave a wake-up call to all parents to pay attention to their children’s behavior.

I once heard the saying, “listen to your children because if you don’t listen to the small things, they won’t tell you the big things once they become adults.”

I enjoyed this book, and my sympathy truly goes to Mr. Dahmer and his wife.

Great narrator!

Pollak is an excellent narrator. It’s sad that no one noticed Jeffrey Dahmer’s behavior. It appears to be neglect.

Great Informative Read!

Being from WI, I’ve heard a lot about Jeffrey Dahmer, I watched the recent Netflix documentary and came across this book as a suggestion. It was great read and a story about a fathers unconditional love, despite horrid circumstances. The narrator was excellent!!!

10/10

Definitely a best seller, worth the 5 stars, and both are so well spoken to be writers and speakers. This story is so deep and honestly unhealthy to think that Lionel went wrong. - Thanks to the narrator!

Not disappointed…

You really get to see the family as human and not just the sons crimes. You wonder about yourself and what you are putting into the world. Great listen!

Really insightful (and sad)

Side note before the review, I did see another review saying Lionel reminds them of Walter White. I thought it was funny because he also dressed like him, but after listening to this, I definitely agree. Breaking Bad is my favorite show though, so I don't mean that in a bad way. I just thought it was funny and interesting. I don't think he has all the terrible parts of Walt's personality though. But he was a scientist, didn't express much emotion, very analytical, wide vocabulary, "nerdy" personality, comes across as weak to others, etc etc.

Lionel was clearly a very loving and caring father who just didn't have the tools to help Jeffrey at the time. This book was very well written though and Lionel most definitely has a lot of talent for writing! The ending (after JD was murdered) was pretty sad. I think people often forget that a lot of killers weren't the product of some insanely violent, turbulent, "crazy" household. But instead, killers can be born from a family's lack of communication, not having awareness of red flags, emotionally distant parents, etc.

Anyway, very insightful and intriguing book. Definitely recommend if you love learning about this case! So many things I didn't know. The narrator did great too.

Impressive

This is a very in depth look at Lionel’s perception of the horrific crimes his son committed. It is interesting and terrifying and heartbreaking all at once. Captivating to listen to as a parent and to think for even just a second, how he must have felt about Jeffrey. He was very focused on Jeff’s recovery until the bitter end. Something we can all say, would never have happened and he got what he had coming at the hands of another disturbed individual.