The Unveiling

A Mother's Reflection on Murder, Grief, and Trial Life

By: Ruth Markel

Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee

Ruth Markel is the mother of the late Dan Markel, a noted law professor who was murdered in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2014. In The Unveiling, she describes her experiences since the day of Dan's death from several distinct perspectives:

- As a devastated mother with the unique human perspective of becoming a homicide survivor and victim.

- As a woman whose attempts to achieve normalcy and live a healthy life are continually interrupted by painful reminders, a rollercoaster of hearings, frequently changing trial dates, verdicts, and appeals.

- As an engaged citizen using what she has learned to help other victims of homicide and violent crimes recover from trauma and begin an optimistic outlook on life.

- As an insider who shows how our collective network of family, friends, and experts have helped her family remain involved, motivated, and hopeful.

- As a grandmother who had not been allowed to see her grandchildren in many years, she used advocacy to inspire the Florida State Legislature to pass a grandparent visitation bill.

- And as an experienced author of nine books using the written word to effectively address the shift from grief to promise.

©2022 Ruth Markel (P)2022 Tantor

Praying for justice for the Markel family

It’s unthinkable that this tragedy has played out for so many years. The Markels have been horribly mistreated by the “Adelson Criminal Institute” and their fabricated cover up stories. Justice will prevail and our hard working law enforcement and criminal prosecutors will eventually succeed one criminal at a time. Thankfully Dan Markels children will one day be able to know the truth if they read this book written by their grandmother.

Mrs. Markel’s emotions

Disliked the excessive details listed in the court documents , I’m not a lawyer so that was really boring. Otherwise the story is very compelling.

I hate to give it 3 stars but…..

First off, my heart absolutely broke while listening to this story. I absolutely empathize with the Markels in this unthinkable tragedy. The Markel family’s bravery and steadfast commitment to holding everyone accountable for this murder is inspirational. I keep them in my prayers. But this book really, really needed a good editor. It is so redundant and has no many irrelevant details like the address and file numbers of the attorneys and case filings that it drove me a bit batty. And it completely lost me at Chapter 8. It is a heartbreaking, compelling story and I hope that it brought Ruth Markel some peace and I know other victims of crime will appreciate it but it’s just not a well-formatted book. I do recommend it for the content, however.

A glimpse into the unthinkable -but better in written form

As a Canadian, I have followed Dan’s story for years. Ruth and her family have handled this horrific situation with a grace and strength that I don’t think many of us could. That said, the whispery, breathless, overly dramatic reading style really detracted from Ruth’s content. I wish she had read it herself. Much love to the Markel family.

How much untimely & unimaginable pain they've gone through & they keep going for their son and grandchildren.

It was a beautifully written book. There is not much to not like, except for the Aldesons of course!

Want to see total justice for this family

The story itself is well told and very interesting. A bit repetitive at times. it was also not necessary, in my opinion, to hear details such as addresses and such as it related to court filings. Too much minutia!

Exceptional account of loss from a mom!

I loved this book. I have been following this trial and watched podcasts, trials, everything and was part of the book club with Ruth Markel. she is a wonderful mother and grandmother as well as a great advocate for grandparents especially when parental alienation is involved. he book was especially helpful in my feeling that I'm not alone in the struggle to morn and grieve the death of my own son.

Don't care for this narrater- Painful to listen to her

I've followed this story for years since I first heard it on podcast. Just watched the entire trial of Charlie Adelson and found out Dan's mom had written a book. Downloaded it even though I knew the whole story but wanted her perspective. While the story and her perspective were great to listen to Ms. Lee's narration was over dramatic and distracting from the story. Personally I like when authors read their own books but I completely understand Mrs. Markel's pain in doing so. Glad they've received justice!!!

Fantastic Book

This is a great book. Definitely interesting to me as I have been following this case for years.

Reader’s voice.

I may just read this book because I’m unfortunately finding the reader’s voice difficult to listen to.