Book Review: "Shot in the Heart" by Mikal Gilmore

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This nonfiction effort, written by the younger brother of executed murderer Gary Gilmore of "The Executioner's Song" fame is one of the best books ever written about the downfall of a family.

Gilmore delves into the lives of his parents and brothers. His father, Frank Sr., was an older man who would run scams and con games, moving from town to town. He also married a half dozen times and fathered as many children under different aliases. Mikal's mother, Bessie, was a Mormon who grew up in another strange family, filled with death, and belief in hauntings and spirits. Both parents beat their first three sons unmercifully. Frank Jr., Gary, and Gaylen seemed like normal little boys until their parents got done with them.

Mikal was the fourth son born, and probably got better treatment than the others. Frank Jr. disappeared after his brother Gary's execution, and was missing from Mikal's life for about ten years. Gary Gilmore spent most of his life in reform school and prison, before murdering two young men in Provo and being executed in Utah by firing squad. Gary's experiences in reform school, especially on his first night, is so horrible it is hard to forget, especially considering this is happening to children. Gaylen was the third son, and almost as much of a criminal as Gary. He would end up dying young, the roundabout result of a mysterious stabbing that would not heal.

Gilmore's book, coming in at over 400 pages, is a fast-paced read. He never tries to explain his brothers' behavior, and he does not defend them, he merely lays out the facts of their family's upbringing, and the reader experiences the shocking life the Gilmores went through. Mikal talks about his own experiences, and how his love of music eventually led to his career as a music journalist, writing for Rolling Stone.

There are revelations here that would seem right at home on a daytime soap opera if they were not real. Paternity, babies thought dead, extramarital affairs, greed- all are covered here, but in a manner that makes these incidents very sad. Reality television and old "Jerry Springer"-type "talk shows" take these same kinds of lives and turn them into a big joke and ratings booster, but when Mikal spits a half page venomous paragraph about an offhand comment by Maury Povich of "A Current Affair," you realize those shows are put on the air to hurt, not inform or enlighten.

"Shot in the Heart" is a terrific book, and might be able to help put your own family's problems in perspective. Mikal Gilmore has written a powerful and passionate book about a subject he knows better than anyone. Later dramatized in a film.