The purpose of writing and publishing Survived by One was to increase public awareness regarding the potential for domestic homicide and educate people regarding the factors that may increase the likelihood of domestic violence, particularly domestic homicides such as parricide and familicide.
Domestic violence, including child abuse, spouse abuse, elder abuse, and domestic homicide, is common in American homes. The most extreme form of domestic violence is domestic homicide and the most extreme form of domestic homicide is familicide, or family mass murder.
The prevalence of domestic homicide in the U.S. is staggering. On average, at least 4 people (3 women and 1 man) are murdered every day by family members and/or intimate partners.
The inspiration for Survived by One was derived from the opportunity to tell the story of a horrific crime in a unique way in order to inform people about the psychological factors and family dynamics that may lead to the most extreme type of domestic violence: family mass murder. By telling the story of this horrible crime and the life of the killer who committed it, Survived by One will hopefully help people learn to identify the signs of impending domestic murders before they are committed, thereby preventing future tragedies of this type.
Survived by One provides an ominous formula for family mass murder, specifically parricidal familicide: A sadistic and abusive parent (Parent #1) and a passive, submissive parent (Parent #2) produce a smart, deceptive, manipulative, conduct disordered child. That child is chronically abused, both physically and emotionally, by Parent #1 while Parent #2 allows the abuse to persist and in many ways enables the abuser. As the child matures, he struggles with repeated failures and depression, and engages in chronic drug abuse. Ultimately, the parents decide to abandon the child, whom they perceive as a failure, which enrages the depressed, dejected, and desperate adolescent, resulting in a nihilistic, drug-fueled termination of the family unit.
