GROSS MISCONDUCT

In this memoir, a woman collaborates with her therapist to share her tragic experience of processing the murder of her two young sons at the hands of her ex-husband.  

“What do you do when your primary purpose, your most important and most sacred role in life, is snuffed out by the horrific actions of the biological father of your children?” So begins Stark’s wrenching account. On Dec. 19, 2016, Stark and her spouse went to pick up her sons, Ryder, 13, and Radek, 11, at her ex-husband’s house only to find they had been murdered by their biological father, Corry MacDougall, who then took his own life. Though Stark had primary custody, she had agreed to let her sons live with MacDougall so they could play at a more competitive level of hockey. Therapist Young Kolbuc is the primary narrator, meticulously chronicling the process by which she helped Stark process her trauma and “turn this pain resonating in her body into power.” An unsparing and maddening portrait of the justice system that did not protect Stark or her boys emerges. Young Kolbuc recounts how MacDougall ridiculed then-8-year-old Radek for wanting to take a year off from hockey to try dance classes and told him he “would only be picking up his ‘son’ Ryder” from then on. If the boys told him they loved their mother, “he told them to f*#k off and go to their rooms.” To readers who may question this one-sided account, Stark asserts: “The ‘other side’ blew off his own head after taking a loaded shotgun to my sleeping children. That is the other side of the story.” Stark’s love, rage, and grief are palpable, and Young Kolbuc’s empathetic voice and insights offer a path forward that could be invaluable for others forced to cope with the loss of a child or the bitterest of divorces. Young Kolbuc also expresses the hope that Stark’s story will spark a discussion about reviewing “laws regarding custody and access to men who continue to display abusive and disrespectful actions to their ex-wives.” Ultimately, the book serves as a loving tribute to Ryder and Radek and a strong stand for safety and justice for all children.

A powerful, painful, but ultimately empowering record of how one woman mended “her fractured soul.”