Are You There Alone?

The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates

By: Suzanne O'Malley

Narrated by: Becky Ann Baker

As a journalist, Suzanne O'Malley began covering the murders of Noah, John, Paul, Luke, and Mary Yates hours after their mother, Andrea Yates, drowned them in their suburban Houston home in June 2001. Over 24 months, O'Malley interviewed or witnessed the sworn testimony of more than a hundred participants in this drama, including Yates herself; her husband, Rusty Yates; their families; attorneys; the personnel of the Harris County district attorney's and sheriff's offices; medical staff; friends; acquaintances; and expert witnesses.

O'Malley argues persuasively that under less extraordinary circumstances, a mentally ill woman would have been quietly offered a plea bargain and sent to an institution under court supervision. But on March 12, 2002, Andrea Yates was found guilty of the murders of three of her five children. She is currently serving a life sentence and will not be eligible for parole until 2041.

O'Malley's exclusive personal communications with Andrea Yates and her interviews with Rusty Yates allow her to offer fully realized portrayals of people at the center of this horrifying case.

In Are You There Alone? O'Malley makes a critical contribution to our understanding of mental health issues within the criminal justice system.

©2004 Suzanne O'Malley (P)2004 Simon & Schuster, Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Without pathos or overwrought prose, O'Malley details Yates' serious mental illnesses, including psychotic postpartum depression and probable bipolar mood disorder....This riveting book puts a human face on a larger social issue." (USA Today)

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.

Such a tragic story!

A detailed portrail of Andrea Yates and the struggles this family went through trying to keep her from falling into the abis of mental illness. Such a tragidy for all. I found this story to be engagingly narrated and easy to listed to. It is done in a documentary style packed with facts and interesting commentary from the author.

Are You There Alone? Andrea Yates Story

Very well written and easy to read (listen to). For those interested in mental health it is an interesting story of errors and blunders in judgment, diagnoses, and law.

Tragic

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you enjoy true crime it doesn't get much better than this, a real insight to Andrea Yates and her tragic circumstance.

What does Becky Ann Baker bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Emotional and a sense of understanding.

Fascinating but sad story

This case was huge right before I went to school for Psychology. Luckily such severe cases are rare but still happen. I love the way the author told the story.

A tragedy of mental illness.

a really tragic story. the narrator is sometimes flat, but I found her reading of Andrea Yates' tortured words in the hospital before and the jail after she murdered her children to be moving.

GREAT TRUE CRIME STORY

No doubt most people have read about the Andrea Yates Story...about a young woman that killed her five children. Suzanne O'Mally wrote an excellent book on this very tragic true crime event.

I know part of the Andrea Yates tragedy had to do with the system failing to realize how sick she really was. After reading this very telling tale about Andrea, I couldn't help feeling sorry for her. I know the crime was horrible. I also feel her husband recognized the signs and did all he was able to do. This tragedy should fall not only on Andrea, but the Doctors that treated her, and the hospital's inability to recognize how dangerous she would become. Why is it always after terrible event people blame the criminal?

There were so many variables involved in this crime. Andrea does not belong in prison...She should be in a hospital setting. My feeling is one day in the not so distant future Andrea should be released after her childbearing years.