God's Nobodies

Misguided Faith and Murder in the Life of One American Family

By: Mark Obbie

Narrated by: Scott Aiello

Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Four years after his father died a hero's death fighting a fire, Tim Ginocchetti was behind bars for killing his mother. How one tragedy led to another is a true story that puts a horrifying twist on the familiar one of bullied gay teens. In this case, the bully was the teen's own mother, and instead of harming himself he killed her in a momentary but irreversible explosion of rage.

God’s Nobodies, written by veteran crime reporter Mark Obbie, exposes the destruction of a meek young man whose only refuge was a childlike fantasy world of his own imagination. His family's blind obedience to their minister compounded the losses, first by turning Pam Ginocchetti against her son, and then by turning the rest of Tim's family against his loving grandmother - the one person brave enough to take a stand for forgiveness and truth after Pam's death.

Through a searing and heartbreaking true-crime narrative, God’s Nobodies teaches profound lessons about tolerance and the human spirit's yearning for independence.

©2012 Mark Obbie (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Sad

I found this to be interesting, sad, painful, and a nightmare for so many people. It is heartbreaking to see a family torn apart because they don't follow one man who should be a leader not a controller. Yes Tim was very wrong and I think he could have done things differently but ones mind isn't always in control when ones emotions are in play. Everyone has a breaking point, I do hope when one reaches it that they just walk away. Mothers do have an issue with letting their little ones live their own lives. As a mother I don't always like what my kids do but it is their live and one must let them live it they way they want to. Yes it is hard knowing that they may make a mess of it but this life is a live and learn life.

I thought the author did a good job giving the facts, staying fair to both sides. Churches can be so controlling they are not above Gods law, it is not about control but about caring, giving, leading and one must lead not do as I say. I enjoyed the story that was very sad, I thought the author did a great job laying it out.

I did not care for the character voices of the narrator but be sides that I thought he did a good job. You always know who is talking and their feelings. There were no repeating of words, no volume changes and no background noise. He has a pleasant normal voice but not so good on the character voices.

good book

well written book. kept my attention . a must to read or listen to.

Is it Nature vs. Nurture

At first I had my reservations with this story, but I thought about the position Tim was placed upon by his mother and church leader. Tim was how he was and who are we to judge. He needed help and it was not sought out properly. Our youth are so delicate and very vulnerable, we should all be cautious with our young children's minds. I really liked the narrators commitment to the story and all the characters.

A Grandmother’s Love

This was a short but very interesting story. The church was definitely on the radical side and the Mom was relentlessly abusive to her adult son who only tried to please her by not being his authentic self. I hope he’s out of prison and can see the true and negative effects of his former “religion” and live out loud and proud.

The Cost of Love

This short listen has stuck with me and haunted me for days, so much so that I had to contact the author to see if I could find out what had happened to Tim Ginocchetti and if he had been released in 2019, and if he had been reunited with his grandmother, Esther, the only one who stuck by him. Let me say that I am a committed Christian, believing in biblical principles and values, the literal translation of the Bible, and I attend a conservative, evangelical church. The subject discussed in God's Nobodies is one of the most difficult facing church denominations today, but no matter where you fall in that discussion, as Christians, we are called first and foremost to LOVE. There is no excuse for a church or pastor to ridicule or rule over individuals and families as is the case with the church the Ginocchettis attended, and there is no biblical precedence for it. We are called to FORGIVE, not once, or twice, but as Jesus told his disciples, when they asked him: SEVENTY times SEVEN, in other words, over and over, with the same grace that Jesus forgave the woman at the well and the prostitute which was about to be stoned. That church is just as much a cult as the one that Jim Jones ran and led and incited almost a thousand people to commit mass suicide. When a church does not rely on the truth of God's word, but on that of a man, such as Brother Frank, the pastor, and squashes healthy discussion of Bible passages as they apply to daily life, there is danger of a cult mentality developing. That is the sin of PRIDE, and it is deadly. The young Tim Ginocchetti was dealt a hard blow in the loss of his firefighter father. Who knows how his life may have turned out if his father had not been killed in the line of duty . . . the boy's emotional hammering and continual fault finding by his mother was devastating for him. I am not excusing what he did . . . and I truly don't think he or his grandmother ever wanted that. But someone, somewhere SHOULD HAVE HEARD HIM . . . SEEN that he was in dire straights, instead of leaving him in a pressure cooker with his mentally unbalanced mother, who was being fed by a sick, minister who thought himself to be god (little g). I applaud this author for a well balanced report. I don't know where he stands on faith or God, but I'm thankful he took up the mantle for Tim Ginocchetti. And I am thankful that Tim was released in 2019 and is able to live a simple, low-key life with his grandmother, Esther who is now in her 80s. I'm thankful that throughout this entire ordeal, Esther never lost her faith, even though she lost the love of her life, a fifty year marriage, and is now alienated from the rest of her family. She held on to truth, choosing forgiveness, choosing what is right, and choosing to be there for her grandson who needed and loves her beyond measure.

heartbreaking story

This is a sympathetic recounting of a bright and promising young man's struggle, his mother's misguided attempts to do the best for him, and a controlling (or out-of-control) church. The sad story unfolds to its almost inevitable tragic end where everyone loses - heartbreaking, but well worth reading.

A must

This is a very powerful book so worth the time to listen to. So glad I took the time.

Good Read!

 

Short but powerful read. Its even better that this was an include free on audible. 

This was a true story about a young man who brutally murdered his mother and the accounts of what lead up to it. 

After he brutally stabbed his mother to death, Tim Ginocchetti called 911 and confessed on the spot to detectives. 


This is a different kind of true-crime book. Yes the act that Tim Ginocchetti carried out on his own mother was horrible, but the way his mother treated him was a crime as well. 

Tim was relentlessly berated and harrassed by his mother for having an effeminate voice and mannerisms and ultimately she questioned his sexuality. 

His mother belonged to a fundamentalist church led by a cult-like leader who also harrassed Tim from the time he was small. 

This book stirred me up big time. 

Definitely recommend. 

Church or Freedom?

Incredible Story! Love Scott Aiello!

Unfortunately, there are so many sad and horrific stories of abuse by the Church. This story is tops them all.

If you had to choose......the Church or Your Freedom?

It felt like listening to a news story

This story absolutely lacks any color or intrigue. I kept waiting for it to get more interesting, and then I realized it was halfway finished. I literally abandoned it with 30 minutes to go because I just couldn't listen any longer.