Six moving profiles reveal the complex realities behind gun violence in the United States. These are the stories of the shooters.
In South Carolina, a young man embarks on a life of crime that culminates in a drug-related shooting and decades in prison; in Chicago, an off-duty police officer engages in a shootout with a murderous gunman, saving a fellow patrolman; in rural Tennessee, a troubled teenager shoots her abusive father in his sleep. The Trigger recounts the dramatic life stories of six individuals who have shot someone in America.
In 2017, over 15,000 were killed and over 31,000 were injured by gunfire. Faced with these desensitizing statistics, one easily forgets that each incident is perpetrated by a living, feeling human being who has walked a unique path. The causes and consequences of these violent acts are often far more complicated than one might expect.
Author Daniel J. Patinkin exhaustively interviewed each of six shooters about their life experiences and about the unique circumstances that compelled them to use a firearm against another person. The result is a series of profound narratives that is sure to distress and challenge the reader, but also, perhaps, to provide enlightenment and inspiration.
"A provocative, sometimes maddening, occasionally riveting examination of the lives of six ordinary Americans who share the experience of having shot someone. . . The roughly 43 victims of gun violence every day in the United States were killed by the kind of people profiled by Patinkin. . . Each story is self-contained but also illuminates the broader issues surrounding gun violence."
Washington Post
"Patinkin writes about these lives with bracing empathy, and he clearly engaged the trust of his subjects, whose perspective on their crimes is filled with horror and regret. . . He has told us six stories that no one else would. He acknowledges that he is in no way trying to overlook the central tragedy of the victims and their families, but he tries his best to force readers to realize that thes
Chicago Tribune
"A moving exploration of gun violence . . . With a distressing and challenging set of narratives, Patinkin gives a rare account of the perpetrator's perspective."
