With a New Afterword

When Greg Gibson's oldest son, Galen--eighteen, bright, unique, full of promise--was shot and killed by a fellow student at his school, Gibson found himself undertaking an unusual, highly personal investigation to discover the truth about his son's murder. He felt he owed it to his son, and he knew the process would help save his own sanity.

Gibson's journey begins with a visit to the man who sold the killer the gun and builds to an astonishing interview with the killer's parents--hardworking Taiwanese immigrants as anguished as the Gibsons about their own "gone boy." Along the way, he meets investigators, lawyers, psychiatrists, conspiracy theorists, bureaucrats, and more than a few lost souls.

An important exploration of gun violence in America, this unforgettable book shows a man talking his way out of grief with toughness, honesty, and a sense of humor as dry and bracing as a shot of good whisky. It also tells the unsentimental story of a family moving beyond rage to an understanding of the human heart.