Dear Dawn: Aileen Wuornos in Her Own Words

I don't want to say I'm a "fan" of Wuornos. I deplore murder and rape. However, Wuornos shows a different side of herself in these letters to her childhood friend, Dawn. I'm fascinated by this woman who took so many hard knocks and survived (up to a point). Everyone let her down, but she seemed to take it in her stride. Rough around the edges, she seemed like a decent person who got carried away, deciding that killing and robbing her johns was preferable to doing the nasty with them. And who knows, maybe it was. There, but for the grace of God go we! She claimed each of the murders were self defense [from rape] and perhaps it was. How would we know? And how can we criticize that she was a prostitute in the first place? For most of us, someone, at sometime in our lives had some faith in us and told us we could do well at whatever profession or vocation we were interested in and we had a little confidence. Aileen seemed to have no one to give her encouragement or positive words she could spin into self-talk as a youngster.Poor, poor Aileen. What a tragic life. I'm very familiar with the area she grew up in and remember how vast the wooded areas were. For a girl with little formal education, she really does come across as very intelligent and was a decent artist. She does not sound like the wild-eyed, out of her mind, thrill killer/murderer/thief the media was so good at showing on film.Another thing I deplore are those who think she "got what she deserved" (death) for murdering those men. If one believes that during her initial rape she was violated anally and had alcohol rubbed in the wounds and also squirted up her nose while tied to a steering wheel, who of us wouldn't react in the same way if we had the opportunity to fight back or even kill, as she did? Would we tell that perv, "It's OK, honey. I've had it rougher." No sir! Any one of us would have been so outraged and frightened, we would have done whatever we had to do to survive.And as far as referring to the men she murdered as the "poor men" (I think there may have been one who was a minister and stopped to give her a ride - but who knows what really transpired? Anyone remember "Mr. Davidson", the holier than thou preacher starring in "Rain" with Joan Crawford? Or the Sadie Thompson story?) With this one possible exception, the married men who were unfortunate enough to come into contact with her were all out looking for trouble and were more than happy to drop their knickers and a $20 for a prostitute. As my daddy used to say, "If you go looking for trouble, you'll find it!"It's taking me a very long time to read this book as I can only take so much......Her upbeat letters make me marvel at the human spirit. When she's down, or seemingly becoming delusional (although I'm not sure she really was), I want to cry for her. A very, very good book.

The letters within this book gives valuable information on what made Aileen tick. Her personality and intelligence is shown here as well as her deep-rooted faults. She seemed brighter than what has been portrayed. For example, I had no idea she did art drawings. She liked reading about UFOs, ancient societies, etc. I think we get a clearer picture of who she was mainly because she was in prison away from booze or as she calls "suds". She didn't have to wonder where her next cigarette/can of beer came from plus her relationship w/ Tyria was totally kaput so she was able to reflect on her past and think beyond the next few hours.Her crimes it seemed had to do w/: being victimized repeatedly and the need for money due to keep her relationship with Tyria going. She had a terrible temper and led a dramatic life. Being a borderline with "all or nothing" thinking, she probably decided she wanted to die if she couldn't have Tyria back. She did seem aware it was her who drove her g/f away by the killings. I'm sure her ex could fill us in more if she wrote her own recollections - a day to day account of living with a powder keg like Aileen.Unfortunately, Aileen's bro died early. If he were alive and could talk, we'd get another side of growing up with the grandparents. The controversy of what actually happened in Aileen's 0-16 years of life is still a partial mystery to me.We also learn of her delusions in prison as far as "getting right w/ God" and the cops supposedly knowing she was a serial killer and allowing her to "clean the streets".Back to her trial and legal counsel - Aileen clearly sabatoged herself. She may have been able to escape the death penalty. She was most likely heart-broken and tired and once she made up her mind, there was no going back. The trial was essentially a media circus which didn't help matters.The friendship with Dawn feels heartfelt. It worked out well through letter-writing (one wonders how it would've been in a day-to-day living situation). Dawn really sacrificed a lot to be Aileen's friend. It's great she was willing to share the letters with everyone. A tragic story for sure.

I just can't put this down! I'm of the opinion that this book is even more of a realistic portrayal then Aileen's autobiography Monster. She writes to her friend from prison spilling her heart out. After hearing what she endured I'm not surprised she turned and killed.

I couldn’t get into the style of writing which I didn’t think about before buying the book.

This is one story among many that says much about our obsessions with fame, crime, sex and hardship. Aileen was, like all killers, unique. To read these letters is to understand her uniqueness and by implication the uniqueness of all others. It does not answer our questions but certainly raises many in relation to middle class liberal angst over what 'to do' with those who break the rules.

Really interesting read. I actually bought this for a university book report, fascinating to see first hand into her life and her mind!

Delivery was fast, great story, good quality book, was a gift for my daughter so i have to wait to finish reading!