If Loving You Is Wrong

By: Gregg Olsen

Narrated by: Kathleen Godwin

Length: 12 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Within hours of giving birth to her sixth child, Mary Kay Letourneau had her baby daughter whisked from her arms. She was then shackled and returned to her jail cell. Just years before, the pretty, personable Seattle schoolteacher was living a life many would envy - she had a handsome husband, four beautiful children, and a beloved following of students. Then she was accused of raping one of her students, and her whole world turned upside down.

Was she a rapist or a victim? How did a 34-year-old married teacher fall in love with one of her sixth grade students? Was it a complete lapse of judgment, or - as she contends - the meeting of two soul mates? Were the two planning on running away together, before police caught them in a parked car? Did the couple have illicit sex in every room of the Letourneau house, as the teenager told the tabloids?

Listen and learn about the case that shocked the world and rocked the headlines - about the lonely life of Mary Kay Letourneau and the young object of her obsession, the boy who fathered two of her children. You may think you know the story of Mary Kay Letourneau - but you don't know the whole story until you've heard If Loving You is Wrong.

Includes interviews with Mary Kay Letourneau.

©1999 Gregg Olsen (P)2013 Gregg Olsen

The best book I’ve listened to in awhile

I loved listening to this book. It kept my attention well and did a great job of retelling events while also being entertaining.

Love Everlasting? I think not.

With the recent announcement of the breakdown of Mary Kay and Vili's marriage I decided to read Gregg Olsen's version of the original story. Out of all the crime writers I do feel that Gregg Olsen does give us the facts with less bias. And let us not get wrapped up with the fact that it was a CRIME and not some sweet romance.

Gregg Olsen gives us the story from day one. I found it a little convoluted however as his timeline skips from one decade then goes into a retrospective and back again. Can get a little confusing but that is what your fast forward and rewind is for I suppose.

Must admit that I did enjoy this book and Kathleen Godwin gave a great performance. Her gentle voice did, however lull me into feeling sorry for Mary Kay in so much that on a couple of occasions I had to tell myself to 'get a grip' and remind myself that Mary Kay was the perpetrator of a major crime!

An enjoyable read regardless of it's minor faults.

Love Gregg Olsen but not the narrator

I'm a huge fan of Gregg Olsen..that said, the voice and performance of the narrator can ruin it for me : (

Kept my attention

I would have given five stars but did not like all the negativity about the Seattle area -particularly in the beginning of the book. Comments about the smell of a beach south of Seattle and numerous other comments left me wondering if the author simply doesn’t like the area. Some comments seemed pretty off base. However, the book was well written, aside from that.

101 excuses for a pedophile!

The author was extremely sympathetic toward the pedophile subject/protaganist. He hould have done more "follow up" to update the book. Copyright is 1999; one update in 2004. Current audio production copyright 2013.

Amazing Story

highly recommended lots of life lessons.....
well researched....
interesting to see how everything unfolded and where everyone wanted up at

Untangled a frantic tale

Gregg Olsen untangles a frantic tale, and manages to do it without judgment. Another superb Olsen book. Narration is spot on.

If loving you is wrong

I read this book years ago and could not wait to listen to it (again) when it became available on audio! This is such a fascinating and crazy story, I just loved it and would highly recommend to anyone interested.

WHO AM I TO JUDGE?

Would you consider the audio edition of If Loving You Is Wrong to be better than the print version?

YES. YEARS AGO I RED THE PRINT VERSION. AUDIO IS ALWAYS BETTER FOR ME ANYWAY.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I FOUND NONE OF THEM THAT LIKEABLE. I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS CAN POSSIBLY BE. BUT I GUESS LOVE HAS NO BOUNDARIES.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

THE READER WAS CLEAR BUT I FELT THE READING HAD SOMETHING MISSING. LIKE THE READER WAS THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE WHEN SHE WAS READING THIS BOOK.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

TIDBIT? I REALLY WOULDN'T KNOW. ALL I KNOW IT IS SOME STORY.

Any additional comments?

I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE NOW MARRIED A YEAR AND A HALF. AMAZING. WHO WOULD EVER HAVE THOUGHT IT WOULD EVER COME TO PASS.

A Great Listen

Gregg Olsen researches and writes fascinating stories. This book is one of those. Great narration.