Are You There Alone?

The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates

By: Suzanne O'Malley

Narrated by: Becky Ann Baker

Suzanne O'Malley takes a close look at the Andrea Yates murder trial and discovers medical misjudgment, professional negligence, misapplied law, and a revelation that led to the overturning of Yates's conviction.

It took a jury less than four hours to find Houston housewife Andrea Yates guilty of the drowning deaths of three of her five children—and a mere half hour to sentence the troubled woman with a stunning history of severe mental problems to life in prison. But beyond the media coverage of her heinous crimes, there is a story that only investigative reporter Suzanne O'Malley has fully illuminated.

This updated edition of Are You There Alone? features a new chapter on the appeal of the Yates case, as well as personal updates on both Andrea and Rusty Yates. Having drawn upon hundreds of interviews—with expert witnesses, close friends, family advisers, and Andrea and Rusty themselves—O'Malley has produced a riveting true-crime account that shatters our notions about criminal law, mental illness, death-penalty politics, and religious fanaticism in America today.©2004 Suzanne O'Malley; (P)2004 Simon & Schuster, Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Conflicted

I think this story is unbelievable. Very interesting and lots of relevant info for a true crime account. Unfortunately, I did not like the narrator and that impacted my overall review.

narrator

I like the way the story was narrated by Becky Ann Baker. Of course Suzanne (author) did a great job also.

Had to take a break from listening.

Interesting story. Lots of things I'd never heard about this case. Had to take a break from listening to the somnolent, harsh voice of the narrator. I'll go back to finish listening because the story is interesting. Perhaps the narrators should be required to listen to their performances prior to releasing the book. The only voice harder to listen to was that of the author in the introduction.

Heartbreaking story not so great narration

The narration gets a bit too detailed and too into the weeds for some of it.

A Lot I Never Knew

I love how nasty everyone is in their review because the author went “too easy” on Andrea Yates. Further evidence that humans lack humanity; no empathy for anyone, and certainly no empathy for a woman struggling with mental illness.
The narrator had a good voice, and I enjoyed her reading. The book itself was done well, and gave information from a softer point of view; a point of view that didn’t think Andrea Yates deserved to burn in the lowest pit of Hell for her mental instability. She’s spending her life in a mental institution for what she did… How is that getting away with murder?