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Love and Evil: From a Probation Officer's Casebook
372 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
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May 13, 2018
It is seldom that I read a book that truly awes me--this is that book.
Let me say that I have carried this book with me through the past 3 decades of my life, through 10 or more moves, some across country, and kept it when I have let go, sometimes blithely but more often reluctantly of many others.
A friend of mine gave me this book. Her name was Betty; she was a "Jail Nurse" as she described it. She arranged for me to tour the Jail with her as I was young, curious, and desperately wanted to dedicate my life to helping others. She told me she believed in Evil. She pointed out an inmate who had raped an 18-month old girl. Betty was afraid of mice; worried about her weight, had Fibromyalgia, had an adopted son who was an addict despite every effort of his parents to love him and support him and heal him. I met Betty's son in Junior High and several years later I met Betty at a Tough Love meeting. (This was in my Fight Club Phase).
Betty was a Christian and her Christianity made sense to me. She handed me this book, called "Love and Evil" and said I should read it. I said I would. For some reason, I didn't until now. I don't know why I didn't sooner--I guess there were multiple reasons: it seemed depressing and dark, I didn't think it was relevant in my life, I didn't like Non-Fiction unless related to medicine, thinking about Betty made me sad--who knows.
But a promise is a promise and I finally kept it.
This is a GREAT book. If you only wrote one book, this would be the one.
I would love to meet Mr. Sakall, and if I did, I'd shake his hand for a long time. He comes across as haunted, as damaged, but above all, an honest and compassionate man. I have no doubt that he helped many probationers in his life, and influenced and inspired everyone who worked with him.
Betty died while I was trying for many years and failing to get into medical school. I have thought of her very often with gratitude. She was one of the few friends I have ever had, and the only adult who befriended me when I was a troubled teenager.
I know now why Betty gave me this book.
This book is written by a Probation Officer (with help from a professional writer) based, as the subheading suggests, on his notes of cases. Mr. Sakall was a Probation Officer in Tucson, Arizona and these cases are from the late 1960's and early 1970's. So you feel you are looking into a window of the past. These are the cases that troubled Mr. Sakall the most, for different reasons. Won't lie to you--some of this was difficult to read due to the horrific nature of the crimes. Mr. Sakall is/was a man with a mission: to have compassion and understanding for his Probationers (the people he was trying to help), to recommend jail/prison versus probation/freedom as he felt appropriate, to rehabilitate as many people as possible.
At times, it is like sitting on the Group W Bench with Arlo Guthrie--no Father Rapers, but he describes a Mother Raper, Child Rapist, A Murder reminiscent of one in the movie "Fargo", Addicts, Car Thieves, Embezzlers. In telling these stories, he is neither judgmental nor detached. It is clear Sakall was affected and tormented by the violence he bore witness to. He made strenuous efforts not to hurt anyone to the extent humanly possible and to be fair and respectful. In some cases he truly hoped to find some childhood trauma that would explain the later crimes against society--and when he couldn't find any, this troubled him worse than the crime itself.
He agonized over some of his decisions in the literal sense of the word. He was tough and truly courageous.
I liked this book not only because now I admire Probation Officers even more than I did before. It helped me understand those of my patients who are ex-convicts. Sakall makes his Probationers seem human, as fallible as each of us, some beyond help and others salvageable.
Sakall loved his Probationers and tried to get past the evil actions to the Soul beneath.
Let me say that I have carried this book with me through the past 3 decades of my life, through 10 or more moves, some across country, and kept it when I have let go, sometimes blithely but more often reluctantly of many others.
A friend of mine gave me this book. Her name was Betty; she was a "Jail Nurse" as she described it. She arranged for me to tour the Jail with her as I was young, curious, and desperately wanted to dedicate my life to helping others. She told me she believed in Evil. She pointed out an inmate who had raped an 18-month old girl. Betty was afraid of mice; worried about her weight, had Fibromyalgia, had an adopted son who was an addict despite every effort of his parents to love him and support him and heal him. I met Betty's son in Junior High and several years later I met Betty at a Tough Love meeting. (This was in my Fight Club Phase).
Betty was a Christian and her Christianity made sense to me. She handed me this book, called "Love and Evil" and said I should read it. I said I would. For some reason, I didn't until now. I don't know why I didn't sooner--I guess there were multiple reasons: it seemed depressing and dark, I didn't think it was relevant in my life, I didn't like Non-Fiction unless related to medicine, thinking about Betty made me sad--who knows.
But a promise is a promise and I finally kept it.
This is a GREAT book. If you only wrote one book, this would be the one.
I would love to meet Mr. Sakall, and if I did, I'd shake his hand for a long time. He comes across as haunted, as damaged, but above all, an honest and compassionate man. I have no doubt that he helped many probationers in his life, and influenced and inspired everyone who worked with him.
Betty died while I was trying for many years and failing to get into medical school. I have thought of her very often with gratitude. She was one of the few friends I have ever had, and the only adult who befriended me when I was a troubled teenager.
I know now why Betty gave me this book.
This book is written by a Probation Officer (with help from a professional writer) based, as the subheading suggests, on his notes of cases. Mr. Sakall was a Probation Officer in Tucson, Arizona and these cases are from the late 1960's and early 1970's. So you feel you are looking into a window of the past. These are the cases that troubled Mr. Sakall the most, for different reasons. Won't lie to you--some of this was difficult to read due to the horrific nature of the crimes. Mr. Sakall is/was a man with a mission: to have compassion and understanding for his Probationers (the people he was trying to help), to recommend jail/prison versus probation/freedom as he felt appropriate, to rehabilitate as many people as possible.
At times, it is like sitting on the Group W Bench with Arlo Guthrie--no Father Rapers, but he describes a Mother Raper, Child Rapist, A Murder reminiscent of one in the movie "Fargo", Addicts, Car Thieves, Embezzlers. In telling these stories, he is neither judgmental nor detached. It is clear Sakall was affected and tormented by the violence he bore witness to. He made strenuous efforts not to hurt anyone to the extent humanly possible and to be fair and respectful. In some cases he truly hoped to find some childhood trauma that would explain the later crimes against society--and when he couldn't find any, this troubled him worse than the crime itself.
He agonized over some of his decisions in the literal sense of the word. He was tough and truly courageous.
I liked this book not only because now I admire Probation Officers even more than I did before. It helped me understand those of my patients who are ex-convicts. Sakall makes his Probationers seem human, as fallible as each of us, some beyond help and others salvageable.
Sakall loved his Probationers and tried to get past the evil actions to the Soul beneath.
Displaying 1 of 1 review