A Love That Kills: Stories of Forensic Psychology and Female Violence

Description

Introducing us to eleven ordinary women who came to commit extreme acts, Anna Motz - one of Britain's leading forensic psychotherapists - sheds light on women's capacity for violence. She takes the reader on a journey into psychotherapy, uncovering their motives and the fault lines in their psyche that led to their crimes. We meet Mary, who turned to arson after her son was taken into care, Maja, whose fantasy life led to her stalking an ex-boyfriend, and Dolores, whose terrible crime is unimaginable to most people. Always treating her patients with care and compassion, despite often struggling to process the details of their deeds, Anna Motz explores the dance between patient and therapist and the tortuous pathways to recovery and understanding. Deeply affecting, compelling and profound, A Love That Kills offers a rare glimpse inside the world of the forensic psychotherapist and asks us to consider vital questions about how society treats women who commit terrible crimes.

Anna Motz is a Consultant Clinical and Forensic Psychologist and Psychotherapist, with over thirty years of experience working with violent women in prisons and in the community, and the staff who work with those women. She is a leading expert in women as perpetrators of violence.

Clear eyed and compassionate, Anna Motz's expertise as a national and international commentator on female violence makes this a powerful read, which is moving in its compassion and hopeful in its message that it is possible to break the connection between trauma and violence -- GWEN ADSHEAD, author of THE DEVIL YOU KNOW A fascinating book bursting with humanity. A LOVE THAT KILLS reminds us all that a wrong decision can change everything and teaches us not to judge without first understanding. What a tour de force -- PROFESSOR SUE BLACK, author of ALL THAT REMAINS In this compelling book, Anna Motz, one of the most experienced of the world's forensic psychologists, examines complex criminal cases involving women. Insightful, brilliant and illuminating, she reveals the unspoken truth about women and violence -- BARONESS HELENA KENNEDY QC A fascinating look at shocking crimes, which peels back the uneasy and destructive relationship we have to the very idea of women and violence. An important book which exposes these truths in the same way that THREE WOMEN did for female sexuality -- ARAMINTA HALL, author of PERFECT STRANGERS Judicious, compassionate, gripping, A LOVE THAT KILLS takes us on a journey into women's violence and the ways in which honed instincts and therapeutic knowledge allow a forensic psychologist to work with the hardest of cases. I couldn't put it down -- LISA APPIGNANESI Combining deep professional expertise with compelling writing, this is an essential read for anyone who wants to better understand why women commit the most extreme crimes. At times harrowing, Anna Motz's account is above all compassionate, an argument for why empathy and understanding are the key to breaking generational cycles of violence -- LUCIE WHITEHOUSE, author of BEFORE WE MET Based on thirty years of practical experience of working with violent women, Anna Motz's extraordinary book is a visceral assault on the senses and rebuts almost everything that we have come to believe about women who kill and commit the most appalling of violent crimes -- DAVID WILSON, author of MY LIFE WITH MURDERERS I love this book. Motz is undaunted by the dark depths of life and my heart raced while reading it. She's courageous, compassionate and honest. Each chapter allows for surprising twists and turns in the nuances of human experiences and the pain of relationships. It's a riveting and fascinating book that's edifying and necessary. Motz explores heartbreaking agony and horror with respect and curiosity, and brings personalities and hidden stories to life. * Charlotte Fox Weber, author of WHAT WE WANT *