Dear Dawn: Aileen Wuornos in Her Own Words

I don't want to say I'm a "fan" of Wuornos. I deplore murder and rape. However, Wuornos shows a different side of herself in these letters to her childhood friend, Dawn. I'm fascinated by this woman who took so many hard knocks and survived (up to a point). Everyone let her down, but she seemed to take it in her stride. Rough around the edges, she seemed like a decent person who got carried away, deciding that killing and robbing her johns was preferable to doing the nasty with them. And who knows, maybe it was. There, but for the grace of God go we! She claimed each of the murders were self defense [from rape] and perhaps it was. How would we know? And how can we criticize that she was a prostitute in the first place? For most of us, someone, at sometime in our lives had some faith in us and told us we could do well at whatever profession or vocation we were interested in and we had a little confidence. Aileen seemed to have no one to give her encouragement or positive words she could spin into self-talk as a youngster. Poor, poor Aileen. What a tragic life. I'm very familiar with the area she grew up in and remember how vast the wooded areas were. For a girl with little formal education, she really does come across as very intelligent and was a decent artist. She does not sound like the wild-eyed, out of her mind, thrill killer/murderer/thief the media was so good at showing on film. Another thing I deplore are those who think she "got what she deserved" (death) for murdering those men. If one believes that during her initial rape she was violated anally and had alcohol rubbed in the wounds and also squirted up her nose while tied to a steering wheel, who of us wouldn't react in the same way if we had the opportunity to fight back or even kill, as she did? Would we tell that perv, "It's OK, honey. I've had it rougher." No sir! Any one of us would have been so outraged and frightened, we would have done whatever we had to do to survive. And as far as referring to the men she murdered as the "poor men" (I think there may have been one who was a minister and stopped to give her a ride - but who knows what really transpired? Anyone remember "Mr. Davidson", the holier than thou preacher starring in "Rain" with Joan Crawford? Or the Sadie Thompson story?) With this one possible exception, the married men who were unfortunate enough to come into contact with her were all out looking for trouble and were more than happy to drop their knickers and a $20 for a prostitute. As my daddy used to say, "If you go looking for trouble, you'll find it!" It's taking me a very long time to read this book as I can only take so much......Her upbeat letters make me marvel at the human spirit. When she's down, or seemingly becoming delusional (although I'm not sure she really was), I want to cry for her. A very, very good book.

Aileen Wournos, labeled, america's first female serial killer that was executed in FL in 2002 after allegedly killing 6 men on FL interstates in 1989-1990 who captured America by Storm for years and still mesmerizes people to this day because she was the subject of the Movie, MONSTER, a 2003 movie starring Charlize Theron who won an academy award for her performance as Aileen Wournos. This book is probably the "ONLY" factual look into Aileens mind who america deemed as "Insane". She was a victim of severe abuse and abandonment all her life from day one and spent most of her life on the road hustling for money after being homeless and abandoned. She was repeatedly victimized as a hooker until the rage inside took over and demanded her to act. Two documentaries by Nick Broomfield, one in 1992 and her final interview before the execution in 2002, "The selling of a serial killer" has been made but in no way can offer the "TRUE" View and Portrait inside the mind and life of Aileen Wournos as this new book "DEAR DAWN", a compilation of all Aileen's letters to her childhood friend "Dawn Botkin" who was with her to the end. This book and it's letters reveal a VICTIM in every sense of the word. Although a victim, she was also a SURVIVOR and had so much LOVE in her heart that no one would ever bother to help nuture or nourish. Ravaged and Abused further by the Florida Justice System and Tortured beyond human comprehension. These letters are a tell all. She maintained her humor, her love, her passion and her devotion to God to the end. So much Betrayal that is beyond belief. I can't put the book down. You'll want to know everything about her while reading this book so I recommend watching the movie, "MONSTER" that is somewhat accurate and the 2 part documentary by Nick Broomfield on Aileen, "The Selling Of a Serial Killer" to fully understand how unjust a human can be treated and habitually victimized. With only a 9th grade education, she is surprisingly intelligent. Painted INSANE by all acounts, this book reveals a completely different view, an HONEST view into the life, mind and final moments of Aileens tragic life. She was the most HONEST person from the beginning of her ordeal to the end. You will gain a new passion for her and be Shocked at what Mass Hysteria can do to someone. Truly a Book to read.

So made up wi this book. As ive always been so interested in Aileen Wouners. This book is one you can't put down. Knowing her on you tube. Her letters are sad 😔 but heart warming ♥️. So please wi this story. May open the people eyes of her true life. Thanks Amazon ☺️

I’m doing my final case assignment on Aileen and this book is a great resource for a better understanding of her herself and her mental health.

Wie beschrieben. Gute Ware

The book is not that bad,Aileen tells her story through her diaries,the only problem is that she always tells the same story all over again for more than 200 pages..in the end its quite boring..I save it because of the grammatical errors..those tells you who Aileen really was..

This is the second d time iv ordered thia book as some dogs ripped my first up its an akward read but true