Raised by a Serial Killer

Discovering the Truth About My Father

By: April Balascio

Narrated by: April Balascio

The untold story behind the hit true crime podcast The Clearing, this unforgettable memoir traces one daughter’s moving quest to understand her larger-than-life childhood as she searches for the truth about her father, the serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards.

One evening in 2009, April Balascio was searching online, as she had been every night, for unsolved murders in the towns her family had lived growing up, when she stumbled across the latest investigations into the “Sweetheart Murders” cold case. All at once, the buried memories of her father’s dark history were awakened, and she knew she had to take action. She picked up the phone to call a detective and the rest is infamous true crime history.

In her unflinching memoir, Balascio bravely reveals an astonishing tale of a lifetime of manipulation, unexplained upheavals, and silent fear. Some part of her had always known what her father was capable of, but the full truth of how she came to these revelations is as riveting as it is quietly terrifying. Through searing storytelling, dedicated research, and intimate insight, Raised by a Serial Killer is a gripping, courageous memoir unlike any other.

©2024 April Balascio (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

My heart goes out to this lady!

Good book-I feel for this lady & her family. I hope she knows love & kindness for the rest of her days! I was really saddened at her mother’s behavior… I think her mom is definitely complicit in the abuse. I did have to speed book up to 1.2, I feel the reading was slow, halting and a little childlike. Her father deserved far worse than he got.

Enjoyed the story but not the narration

I am sad that April went through all this and glad that she shared her story. However, the reading cadence was difficult to overlook and jarring.

Authentic, sympathetic and well done

I'm writing this review when the author is nearly done with high school. I have several hours to go, but I'm so impressed with the book that I'm motivated to recommend it as soon as possible. The author narrates her own story, which lends authenticity and atmosphere to the telling. People often wonder why spouses and children in the orbits of such appalling characters as the author's father don't run away sooner than they do. But the fine details of this family's predicament reveal the attachments and conditioning which immobilize them, along with the extreme danger of leaving such a vicious and vengeful person. This is not a hard book to hear because we can hear in the author's voice that she was adaptable, strong and courageous in ways that allowed her to survive. I believe her siblings and mother were too. There's no gratuitous description of the father's crimes. It's well-worth reading.

Excellent

Just wow. This was so engaging and raw and personal. Simply an excellent autobiography. The fact that it was narrated by the author only made it more engaging.

Excellent!

Excellent all the way through! Thank you for sharing your story! You deserve all the b

Raw truth and vulnerability of characters

I was deeply touched emotionally by this true account and the feelings of my youth being so “normal” in comparison. A must read!

up close and personal look at life with a psychopath

Well done. The unfolding story of the brutal existence survived by the family of a killer. Violence against people, children, animals. Harsh but it is the reality.

Balascio’s voice adds authenticity

I’m always cautious when the author narrates their own book but April Belascio’s voice actually adds to the book’s authenticity.

If I were curating a book list for new teachers, I’d add this. As I was listening, I recalled some students who left suddenly with no forwarding address. April’s willingness to recall painful events gives us insight into the lives of children whose parents neglect and abuse them.

I really appreciated April’s ability to explain how she continued to love her complicit mother because she, too, was a victim.

Thank you, April Balascio.

The Author’s honesty.

The author’s journey and resilience is amazing in this difficult situation she was born into.

The fact that this man was able to get away with so many murders was astounding

The story was stranger than fiction and I was very interested.
The author covered many years and introduced a lot of characters which made it hard to follow. I almost feel like it should have been two books, one covering her childhood and the second her investigation into the murders