The Other Dr. Gilmer: Two Men, a Murder, and an Unlikely Fight for JusticeA “mesmerizing” (The New York Times Book Review) true story about a shocking crime and a mysterious illness that will forever change your notions of how we punish and how we heal—an expansion on one of the most popular This American Life episodes of all time, now with a new postscript “A remarkable medical detective story–cum–memoir, grippingly told . . . I was drawn in by every part of it.”—Atul Gawande, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Being Mortal Fresh out of medical residency, Dr. Benjamin Gilmer joined a rural North Carolina clinic only to find that its previous doctor shared his last name. Dr. Vince Gilmer was loved and respected by the community—right up until he strangled his ailing father and then returned to the clinic for a regular week of work. Vince’s eventual arrest for murder shocked his patients. How could their beloved doctor be capable of such violence? The deeper Benjamin looked into Vince’s case, the more he became obsessed with discovering what pushed a good man toward darkness. When Benjamin visited Vince in prison, he met a man who appeared to be fighting his own mind, constantly twitching and veering into nonsensical tangents. Sentenced to life in prison, Vince had been branded a cold-blooded killer and a “malingerer”—a person who fakes an illness. But it was obvious to Benjamin that Vince needed help. Alongside This American Life journalist Sarah Koenig, Benjamin resolved to understand what had happened to his predecessor. Time and again, the pair came up against a prison system that cared little about the mental health of its inmates—despite more than a third of them suffering from mental illness. The Other Dr. Gilmer takes readers on a riveting and heart-wrenching journey through our shared human fallibility, made worse by a prison system that is failing our most vulnerable citizens. With deep compassion and an even deeper sense of justice, Dr. Benjamin Gilmer delves into the mystery of what could make a caring doctor commit a brutal murder. And in the process, his powerful story asks us to answer a profound question: In a country with the highest incarceration rates in the world, what would it look like if we prioritized healing rather than punishment? |
Contents
Good Hope Road | 3 |
Home | 8 |
Cane Creek | 15 |
Paranoia | 32 |
Serotonin | 46 |
The Letter | 62 |
Wallens Ridge | 87 |
What Happened | 101 |
Aftermath | 170 |
Family Thanksgiving | 184 |
Cruel and Unusual | 202 |
Waiting | 219 |
Countdown | 233 |
Healing Crime | 252 |
Afterword | 272 |
Postscript | 284 |
Other editions - View all
The Other Dr. Gilmer: Two Men, a Murder, and an Unlikely Fight for Justice Benjamin Gilmer No preview available - 2022 |
Common terms and phrases
Angliker Asheville behavior believe Benjamin Gilmer Broughton called Cane Creek cell clemency petition clinic Creigh Deeds crime Dalton Dawn Deirdre Detective Martin diagnosis disease doctor everything exam room eyes family medicine Feix felt Gabon Geri Gloria going happened head healing hear heard hospital Huntington's Huntington's disease incarcerated inmates Innocence Project jury justice kids killed his father knew Laura lawyers Lexapro listened lives looked Luya Marion mental health mentally ill mind Morva mountain murder needed never night North Carolina Northam patients person physician pizza pockets psychiatric psychiatrist question rural Sarah asked seemed serotonin smile sociopath someone SSRI discontinuation syndrome SSRI withdrawal started Steve sure symptoms talk tell Terri things thought tion told Tommy took traumatic brain injury treat trying Vince Gilmer Vince's story Virginia visiting room voice waiting walked Wallens Ridge wanted week William Morva wrong