The Justice Department analysis of the police response to the school shooting at Robb elementary School in Uvalde, Texas was released today (1/18/24) and it prompted me to post a review for THE VIOLENCE INSIDE US by Chris Murphy. The Senator for Connecticut subtitles his work “A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy,” provides compelling statistics, and explores questions about why here is so much gun violence in America. Murphy reinforces readers' interest through the stories he relays: a violent death on the streets for a young man trying to start his own business and the shootings at Sandy Hook elementary school. He looks deeply at his own journey around this topic as well as exploring questions about why humans, and especially Americans, hurt each other, plus, "how to demand common sense changes in our law that will reduce episodes of life altering violence." Originally published in September, 2020, THE VIOLENCE INSIDE US received a starred review from Booklist ("emotionally passionate, and bracingly realistic").

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24366914-uvalde-report

The Violence Inside Us by Chris Murphy is a clear, factual, and persuasive argument against the guns rights movement in the United States and the increase in violent gun crime. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, home of Sandy Hook Elementary School, explains the history of gun violence in the United States and how, without imminent change, we are destined to repeat history. This book is a clear call to action in banning use and sale of guns to save lives.

I interviewed Sen. Murphy about this book, which is an indispensable addition to the literature about gun violence in America.

Every once in a while, a nonfiction book comes along that really changes the way I view the world. Senator Chris Murphy's book has done just that by opening my eyes further to the ways that gun violence has damaged the lives of so many and continues to corrode away at our country.

Murphy was a representative for the Sandy Hook community when they experienced the horrifying massacre at the elementary school back in 2012. Seeing the tragedy through someone who was close to the situation put it into even clearer perspective for me. If the government was not willing to pass stricter gun laws after the deaths of first graders, they aren't ever going to. But Murphy's book is an insightful dig into so much more than just the Sandy Hook event. He examines how our country has been shaped by gun violence since the very first Europeans arrived in the US all the way through the invention of the semi-automatic weapon. He looks at how our country struggles with poverty and mental illness (since suicide by gun is such a huge problem). And then at the end of the chapters listing these incredibly depressing statistics, Murphy also leaves the reader feeling hopeful. If people are still inspired to fight the NRA and the GOP in order to get some common sense gun laws passed, then there is a small degree of hope left.

I won't ever look at a school shooting or an act of gun violence the same way after reading this book, and I admire Murphy so much for inserting his own feelings and his own fighting spirit into every page. There is still so much for us to understand about the reasons people are driven to violence, and I appreciated the ability to learn more than I did before.

December 14, 2012 changed the course of newly minted Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy’s life. He was with his family about to catch the train to New York City when his aide called with the news of the terrible shooting at Sandy Hook. He made it to the scene waiting with the parents not reunited with their children. Their tragedy, and all the funerals, changed Murphy’s life, and gave him the greater purpose he had lacked, despite all his political success.

Another tragedy, one of which he learned later, but which had occurred two months earlier, while he was running for office, in nearby north Hartford, revealed the other side of gun violence. Young Shane Oliver, son of Pastor Sam Saylor. Shane was a promising young man, making a living repairing and flipping cars until a sale went bad and ended with Shane bleeding out in the street in his mother Janet’s arms. Sam became bitter. He’d buried other young men, but this was different. Janet went to a dark place. The couple came to Chris’s attention when Janet fought with a family member of the shooter during his arraignment.

And so began a journey of learning why so many mostly young men were dying on our nation’s streets, and what was behind mass shootings. It was a journey that took him into the roots of violence within us, into the biology of human violence, from brain structures to opposable thumbs, and why some particularly have a propensity for violence.

While violence is a human condition, the incidence of gun violence in the U.S. sets us apart from the world. Murphy looked both at mass shootings that continued to capture the headlines and empty nostrums of “thoughts and prayers” and the violence we ignore–the violence in our cities. He brings to light the more hidden violence of suicide, in which attempts end with death at far greater frequencies than by any other means. Sadly, the life that many guns are most likely to take are the lives of their owners, especially men in rural areas and others who are isolated.

He uncovers the fatal alignment of the arms industry and the National Rifle Association. He describes the resistance to common sense measures like universal background checks, extended to gun shows, that would make guns available to legitimate gun enthusiasts and others who have a legitimate need for them, while keeping it out of the hands of many who would do harm to self or others. He also tells the story of growing groups of mothers, of youth, and even some gun shops whose sales were used to terrible ends. He shows the interesting connection between reducing gun violence and criminal justice reform and other systemic interventions including President Bush’s PEPFAR program in Africa that not only reduced AIDS mortality rates, but also gun violence,

He ends with an account of his filibuster effort, a rarely used and seldom effective measure, to bring a background check bill to a vote. His effort failed, but he left his hearers and the readers a story of someone at Sandy Hook who found something different than violence within–something he believes we all need to find to reduce this terrible scourge.

Murphy offers a moving narrative. Although he upholds the right to own guns, I don’t think he will convince the hard core that he isn’t after their guns. I don’t think all the stories, statistics, reasons and proposals will do that. The question is whether it will encourage hope and action with many who have stayed out of the fray. Will it persuade those in the middle, who are tired of the polarities that a both/and solution is possible–one that keeps guns out of the hands of many who would use them for lethal purposes while allowing law abiding citizens to own them. I also wonder if Murphy and his like will have the staying power of a Wilberforce to pursue this effort even if it takes a life time. I think that is what it will take.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

I didn't realize I was reading a book that claims to solve violence by disarming legal gunowners. It sounds trite, but guns do not kill people...people kill people. I fully sympathize with the friends and families of those traumatized by mass shootings and active shooter events. But, the solutions should be providing support to our mentally and emotionally challenged citizens and enforcing the laws that are already on the books,
This book is well written by a man who feels strongly that something should be done and done soon to save our innocent victims. I read it in one day, it really is meant to get readers thinking and acting. While I strongly do not agree with his logic, I do agree that as a nation, we need to figure out how best to protect and serve.

The Violence Inside Us is the new book by author Chris Murphy. This book is an in-depth look into the violence that our country has been dealing with...something Senator Chris Murphy knows all too well. I still remember that horrific day when a senseless act of violence took the lives of twenty-six people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut. Twenty children between the ages of six and seven lost their lives that day, and I truly thought that would be a turning point for the United States. However, nothing changed, and this country continues to be ravaged by violence.

Chris Murphy provides a well-researched history of the violence that has always been present in this country, and carefully examines what needs to be done in order to make changes. It is more than just changing laws and regulations...it is about changing attitudes. There are some that will not agree with his point of view and nothing anyone says will ever change their minds when it comes to their guns. However, I honestly feel that he tries to address this issue from all points of view. This is a book that not only examines the history of violence, but it also tells the personal stories behind it.

Overall, The Violence Inside Us is a book that is full of history and heartbreak, but one that I feel is an important step in the right direction for solving this ongoing problem. Regardless of political views, this is definitely a book worth reading.

I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group-Random House and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book. My views are my own, and are in no way influenced by anyone else.

In 1764, my sixth great-grandparents were murdered and scalped by Simon Girty and a group of Native Americans whose reign of terror was waged to scare settlers out of the Shenandoah Valley. The Rev. John Rhodes, a Swiss Brethren and a pacifist, was an early settler in the valley.

Unable to defend themselves, the community built underground cellars, but eventually they were converted by a visiting Baptist. One advantage of this change in faith was that they were allowed guns for self-protection.

Our immigrant ancestors employed guns for hunting game and to defend themselves against the people whose lands they stole. Guns were safeguards in far-flung lawless frontiers and they were needed by state militias before a centralized government created the first American army.

American has long embraced gun ownership. In The Violence Inside Us, Senator Chris Murphy notes that the Pilgrims required every man to have a gun.

Murphy's life was changed with the shooting of school children in Newtown. As a newly elected senator, he saw the pain close up. Gun violence became his bailiwick.

Our son was in junior high at the time of the Columbine shooting. A student at his school talked about bringing a gun to school. Our son insisted he stay home the next day. The threat was investigated and the student punished. But our son never again felt safe at school.

Years later, and many school shootings later, we still can't guarantee our children that they will be safe in their classrooms.

This passionate and well-thought out book addresses the central questions behind violence. Is it human nature to be violent? Why is America the most violent nation in the industrialized world? What can we do to alter the violence? Why are our political leaders loathe to pass legislation that protects innocent victims of gun violence? He looks beyond our borders to how America has taken violence abroad through war and weapons sales.

Carefully building an understanding of the use and misuse of guns as rooted in human nature and American society, Murphy argues for reasonable legislation, on which the majority of Americans agrees, and explains the forces that prevent that legislation from passing.

Murphy's personal transformation makes a connection and the stories he shares grabs you by the heart.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

The Violence Inside Us: A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy (Kindle Edition)

Author: Chris Murphy
(This review is from an edition from a NetGalley ARC)
The author has taken on the formidable task in” covering the deep roots of human violence and the propensity of people to harm themselves and each other”
Chris Murphy a U.S senator from Connecticut investigates through history the origins of violence and the obsession with firearms. The exploration of the roots and modern reality of American violence is the theme of this book. The book is carefully researched, deeply emotional, and dissects America’s violence and penchant for guns.
Murphy tells the story of his profound personal transformation in the wake of the mass murder at Newtown, at Sandy Hook elementary school where 26 people including 20 children were shot and killed.
Murphy expounds on the enormous influence the NRA and the gun lobby have on Congress and citizenry.
By researching the roots of violence historically this is an honest examination which many politicians will not touch. Murphy feels that we have the power to change and he is hopeful that the cycle of violence
could be curbed by cultural influences and legislation..

Really fascinating account of America's obsession with violence. This is something I've long wondered about America and Chris Murphy has done an excellent job of pulling various strands together to make a compelling argument.

Chris Murphy speaks the truth he is a strong leader against guns.This book speaks loud and clear about the dangers in our society.He writes just as he speaks with a path a plan to help make America safe.An impressive read.#netgalley#randomhouse

This book was excellent. It is well paced, well researched, and gives a good picture into his character without it being "about" him. Chris Murphy has a great writing voice and analyzes the issue of violence and inequality as well as the lessons he has learned in his career.

Well written and kept my attention when discussing topics many have heard over and over. I enjoyed the mix of factual information mixed in with “feeling” anecdotes. Made it much more readable! Bookstagram post to come!

I have always admired Senator Murphy for the fact that he is a leading voice against gun violence, and reading The Violence Inside Us only deepened that respect. The way in which he tackles this incredibly tough subject with such grace should be a lesson for us all.

Murphy tackles a deep subject on this one. The writing is great and when he tells the real stories behind tragedy it is at it's best. However, you don't feel there's any solutions here and sometimes the book uses weird logic to go from A to B.

A great book for those who are also interested in American history and violence.
I felt a lot of The books chapters were extremely long and could have been broken up better. I also thought a lot of information was dragged out especially during the explanation of violence in Medieval Europe. .
Overall a great informational book on gun violence and how it affects us all. Deeply moving and emotional in some parts.

This is a book that needed to be written and researched, the author did it wonderfully.
I was really impressed that the author took the time to thoroughly research how violence has banded us together and how it is now destroying us.
The book focuses mostly on the guns, AR15's and large ammunition magazines.
I thought it was very well written and researched.
HOWEVER, the one part that was bogged down was the War chapters.
I felt that the War chapters could have been their own book. Too little attention was given, and the author should have reduced it and focused only on guns.
Overall a good book and one in which people interested in gun regulation should read.