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  • My Daddy Is a Hero

  • How Chris Watts Went from Family Man to Family Killer
  • Written by: Lena Derhally
  • Narrated by: Tanya Eby
  • Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (37 ratings)

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My Daddy Is a Hero cover art

My Daddy Is a Hero

Written by: Lena Derhally
Narrated by: Tanya Eby
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Publisher's Summary

A husband. A father. A killer. 

Chris Watts was a family man. Everybody, including his family, believed that. Yet, on August 13, 2018, he murdered Shanann, his pregnant wife, and two young daughters. 

As terrible as his story is, it is also a warning because to this day, living behind bars, Watts is still acting out the character traits that made him kill in the first place. 

In this, the first and only psychological exploration of the Watts family murders, psychotherapist Lena Derhally has pieced together the crime, the events leading to it, and most of all, her beliefs about the "why". She explores the childhoods, families of origin, meeting, and early relationship of Shanann and Chris Watts. She also examines Watts's double life and duplicity regarding his well-publicized affair with a coworker. 

The audiobook includes an in-depth look at community psychopaths, the different subtypes of narcissism, how to prevent this type of violence, and interviews with a neuroscientist, a criminal psychologist, and a journalist. Using her knowledge of attachment theory, Imago relationship theory, and psychopathology, Derhally draws a profile of the real Chris Watts and - just as important - she warns listeners that he is still a danger today.

©2019 Lena M. Derhally (P)2020 Tantor

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What listeners say about My Daddy Is a Hero

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Not good!

True Crime should be factual and those facts should be correct. It's really bad when an author doesn't even get one of the witness names correctly! Credibility lost! Nicole Atkinson's son is named Nick, the author called him Matt. That's unforgivable. Was there no editor or fact checker for this story? Was it just allowed to go to print as is? The other thing I disliked immensely is that the entire thing felt like a cheerleading section for Shan'Ann. It's vitally important that when representing an actual case, personal opinion is left out of it. It really bothers me when a victim is deified and turned into a saint, ignoring all of the perils and red flags that person may have had in the situation. However, that might fall under opinion in some cases. There was just too much "Chris is evil" and "Shan'Ann is an angel". We also do not need a romance novel description of some of the people involved. What they look(ed) like, how they walk(ed), what they are wearing/wore doesn't matter a fig to the situation at hand. In short, I found this book very cringy and I couldn't finish it. I had to actually stop listening and delete. There are far better, fact-based books available that depict accurately. Don't waste your time on this one.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

What a terrifying story

Very well written , maybe a bit of repetition towards the end but an otherwise haunting story

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of the better re-tellings of this event

This is a heart wrenching story and this author really put in the work to research it and offer theories. I found it much more interesting than other re-tellings, and it seemed more respectful to the victims.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Compelling

I enjoyed listening to this Authorship because delved into the deep psychological mind of Chris Watts and his family dynamic and with Shanann's and her type A personality and how their dynamic come together and the inevitable demise of their marriage. So tragic was that he would take all four of them. Does he really think of them everyday or is he focused on being forgiven. we'll see

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Sad story but insightful of how a human can become pure evil

I have known and read bits of this story so I bought the book to get a full picture. At first the narrator sounds like a robot, I wanted to return right away but the was too good to let go. I hung in and it got better.
The one thing was annoying when she changed her voice to emphasize it was Chris Watts

The best and sad part was the end when the writer speaks of the physiological aspects of Chris Watts.
Pure evil however very interesting on how his actions could have been explained.

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    4 out of 5 stars

pretty good book

I enjoyed it and would reccomend to someone who has already followed this case

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