If Love Could Kill, Anna Motz
If Love Could Kill, Anna Motz
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If Love Could Kill
The Myths and Truths of Women Who Commit Violence

Author: Anna Motz

Narrator: Anna Motz

Unabridged: 10 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/06/2024


Synopsis

A groundbreaking work by an internationally acclaimed forensic psychotherapist that looks at women who commit extreme acts of violence and cruelty and at the underlying oppression and abuse often at the heart of these crimes

Women can be murderers and child abusers. They can commit acts of extreme and sadistic brutality. And those who do, are outcasts from society and from womanhood itself. They are seen as monsters and angels of death: and must be kept at a safe distance.

Anna Motz is a renowned clinical and forensic psychologist in London and New York. Writing with candor, compassion, and a clear-eyed perspective, she explores in depth the shockingly underexamined psychological underpinnings of female violence. Far from the heartless and inhuman monsters we might believe them to be, these women are often victims of a culture of violence and emotional trauma.

Already hailed as a landmark, Motz's daring book, bursting with humanity, makes clear that women’s violence is more widespread than most realize, that these acts of violence expose deeply held, centuries-old beliefs about women and their value, and that these acts demand to be taken more seriously as a distinctive societal taboo that can—and must—be brought into the light.

About The Author

ANNA MOTZ was born in Oxford, England, and raised in New York City. She received a degree in psychology from Oxford University. She lives and works in Oxfordshire as a consultant clinical and forensic psychologist and psychotherapist for Central and North West London NHS Trust, providing specialist consultation, assessment, and treatment for high-risk women, in partnership with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. Motz is a member of the Advisory Board for Female Offenders, under the UK Ministry of Justice.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sam on January 23, 2024

Told through the forensic psychoanalysis of several mentally unstable women in the eyes of the criminal justice system, If Love Could Kill is to be handled with care and love. I am so thankful to aaknopf, PRH Audio, and Anna Motz for granting me advanced digital and audio access to this heartbreaker......more

Goodreads review by Kaitlyn on May 28, 2024

This was fantastic- one of the best nonfiction books I’ve read in a long time. Motz, a forensic psychologist who works in women’s prisons, covers the stories of 10 different violent women she has worked with, the crimes they committed, and what led them to commit these crimes. She offers a very non-......more

Goodreads review by CYIReadBooks on January 09, 2024

If Love Could Kill is a collection of 10 case files of women involved in violent acts that the author was involved in. The book provides a psychoanalysis of each of the 10 women and the why’s for their propensity toward violence. Cases were varied and included psychological disorders such as Munchaus......more

Goodreads review by Lisa on November 02, 2023

Written by a forensic psychotherapist, “If Love Could Kill” is about some of the author’s female patients who have committed egregious crimes and/or inflicted violence, even to children. Anna Motz explores the reasons behind the criminality and whether or not these women can survive outside of insti......more

Goodreads review by Kammi on March 11, 2024

So many mixed feelings. The book was definitely interesting, the things these women have endured are heartbreaking & awful BUT some are still inexcusable.......more


Quotes

"If Love Could Kill is not a boastful record of one success after another. Some patients do remain beyond Motz’s reach. But her successes are moving because they give hope. They show that people can surprise themselves with change.” —Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker

"What makes women break bad? In this rigorous collection of case studies and analysis, forensic psychotherapist Anna Motz argues that violent women are almost always also victims themselves, and moreover, deserving of rehabilitation. With a 30-year career providing talk therapy to incarcerated women, Motz is uniquely positioned to cut through the sensationalism of the crimes (arson, Munchausen syndrome by proxy, murder) to the real people behind them. . . . [I]n Motz’s worldview, no human is beyond hope. An empathetic and necessary corrective to the stereotypes peddled by so many sensational true crime shows." Natalie Beach, Oprah Daily

“[Anna Motz] challenges society’s preconceptions about violent women and how we should treat them in this thought-provoking and compassionate book. . . . Motz brings empathy and curiosity to her work, which shines through in her writing, as well as a strong belief in the possibility of rehabilitation. . . . Recommended especially to readers of true crime and forensic psychology.” —Rebecca Hopman, Booklist

"A forensic psychotherapist offers a series of moving case studies of female offenders. . . . eloquent, scholarly, and compassionate . . . A well-considered and sobering look at the psychology of women who commit violent crimes." Kirkus Reviews

"Motz neither shies away from nor sensationalizes the grim, often shocking elements of her patients’ crimes. Instead, she carefully accounts for the psychological and social forces that can drive women to violence, and in the process builds a robust case for mitigating such behavior by raising awareness of those forces and increasing support for women in and out of the justice system. This challenges and enlightens." Publishers Weekly