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What Happened to Paula: On the Death of an American Girl
*Running Time => 9 hrs.*
A riveting investigation into a cold case asks how much control women have over their bodies and the direction of their lives.
In July 1970, 18-year-old Paula Oberbroeckling left her house in Cedar Rapids, iowa, and never returned. A cold case for 50 years, Paula's story had been largely forgotten when Katherine Dykstra began looking for answers. A woman was dead. Why had no one been held responsible? How could a community give up and move on? Could there ever be justice for Paula?
Tracing the knowns and unknowns, Dykstra discovers a girl who was hemmed in by the culture of the late 1960s, when women's rights had been brought to the fore but had little practical bearing on actual lives. The more she learns about Paula, the more parallels Dykstra finds in the lives of the women who knew Paula, the lives of the women in her own family, and even in her own life.
Captivating and expertly crafted, 'WHAT HAPPENED TO PAULA' is a timely, powerful look at gender, autonomy, and the cost of being a woman.
©2021 Katherine Dykstra (P)2021 Random House Audio
A riveting investigation into a cold case asks how much control women have over their bodies and the direction of their lives.
In July 1970, 18-year-old Paula Oberbroeckling left her house in Cedar Rapids, iowa, and never returned. A cold case for 50 years, Paula's story had been largely forgotten when Katherine Dykstra began looking for answers. A woman was dead. Why had no one been held responsible? How could a community give up and move on? Could there ever be justice for Paula?
Tracing the knowns and unknowns, Dykstra discovers a girl who was hemmed in by the culture of the late 1960s, when women's rights had been brought to the fore but had little practical bearing on actual lives. The more she learns about Paula, the more parallels Dykstra finds in the lives of the women who knew Paula, the lives of the women in her own family, and even in her own life.
Captivating and expertly crafted, 'WHAT HAPPENED TO PAULA' is a timely, powerful look at gender, autonomy, and the cost of being a woman.
©2021 Katherine Dykstra (P)2021 Random House Audio
9 pages, Audible Audio
First published June 15, 2021
160 people are currently reading
3835 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Dykstra
2 books50 followersKatherine Dykstra is a writer, editor and teacher. Her essays have been published in The Washington Post, Crab Orchard Review, The Common, Shenandoah, Gulf Coast, Brain, Child, Poets and Writers, Real Simple and the Random House anthology 20 Something Essays by 20 Something Writers, among other places. She was recently named an "artist to watch" by Creative Capital for her work on the Paula Oberbroeckling story. She lives with her husband and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
March 19, 2021
This book really disappointed me. I was so enthralled by the synopsis and completely let down by the book.
There was to much unnecessary filler and not enough about the actual case itself. I wanted an in-depth look at the story, the investigation and I was instead met with painstakingly boring filler about everything but.
I’m critical of true crime books because I expect more about the victims than the authors or other people involved and it’s rare to find that.
There was to much unnecessary filler and not enough about the actual case itself. I wanted an in-depth look at the story, the investigation and I was instead met with painstakingly boring filler about everything but.
I’m critical of true crime books because I expect more about the victims than the authors or other people involved and it’s rare to find that.
September 4, 2021
“If no one is guilty, then everyone’s to blame.”
Multi-layered book that tells the story of investigating a cold case from 1970 from the point of view of the investigator herself. Throughout, the author’s voice is clear and plainspoken with evocative but succinct language. This meta storyline only works to bring the reader into the story rather than farther away from it because of its unique mix of artful writing, sharp thinking and honest self-disclosure.
Hailed as a feminist true crime story, I’m also struck by this book’s top-notch investigative journalism: the deep-dive exploration of details, interviews and case files side by side with almost cultural-anthropological notes on relevant current events that give relevant context in which to make sense of those facts, with the author modeling how to put those together by narrating her own thought processes.
The author’s journalism chops are particularly apparent in how she artfully, powerfully and succinctly contextualizes the case and the characters’ beliefs and actions vis-à-vis the structural and social context of the time, from the mundane (what movies were showing in the theatres), to nuances in attitudes about race, gender and relationships. e.g. “At this time the whole country was crackling with protest and civil disobedience… [1954 Brown v Board, 1963 March on Washington, 1964 Civil Rights Act, 1968 King assassination…]. In its wake, rebellions, termed “riots” by the police, shook entire cities — Washington, Chicago, Detroit. But not, it would seem, Cedar Rapids.” (p 81) “I began to think of her as merely a cog in the giant wheel of racism, … blindly pushing it forward… A person who was the product of the people who had raised her and of the culture she witnessed around her, a person who was uninterested in or afraid of questioning the status quo, a status she undeniably benefitted from.” (p 90)
Ultimately, this book is both about What Happened to Paula, and also what didn’t. What does and doesn’t happen to and for all women.
— “Blaming the victim is convenient. It relieves perpetrators from taking responsibility for their actions. It alleviates society from having to examine its own failure to legislate, to protect, and to apprehend, excusing all the ways violence is allowed to go unchecked. (p 230)
— “Remembering and telling the truth about terrible events are prerequisites both for the restoration of the social order and for the healing of individual victims.” — Judith Herman (p165)
Multi-layered book that tells the story of investigating a cold case from 1970 from the point of view of the investigator herself. Throughout, the author’s voice is clear and plainspoken with evocative but succinct language. This meta storyline only works to bring the reader into the story rather than farther away from it because of its unique mix of artful writing, sharp thinking and honest self-disclosure.
Hailed as a feminist true crime story, I’m also struck by this book’s top-notch investigative journalism: the deep-dive exploration of details, interviews and case files side by side with almost cultural-anthropological notes on relevant current events that give relevant context in which to make sense of those facts, with the author modeling how to put those together by narrating her own thought processes.
The author’s journalism chops are particularly apparent in how she artfully, powerfully and succinctly contextualizes the case and the characters’ beliefs and actions vis-à-vis the structural and social context of the time, from the mundane (what movies were showing in the theatres), to nuances in attitudes about race, gender and relationships. e.g. “At this time the whole country was crackling with protest and civil disobedience… [1954 Brown v Board, 1963 March on Washington, 1964 Civil Rights Act, 1968 King assassination…]. In its wake, rebellions, termed “riots” by the police, shook entire cities — Washington, Chicago, Detroit. But not, it would seem, Cedar Rapids.” (p 81) “I began to think of her as merely a cog in the giant wheel of racism, … blindly pushing it forward… A person who was the product of the people who had raised her and of the culture she witnessed around her, a person who was uninterested in or afraid of questioning the status quo, a status she undeniably benefitted from.” (p 90)
Ultimately, this book is both about What Happened to Paula, and also what didn’t. What does and doesn’t happen to and for all women.
— “Blaming the victim is convenient. It relieves perpetrators from taking responsibility for their actions. It alleviates society from having to examine its own failure to legislate, to protect, and to apprehend, excusing all the ways violence is allowed to go unchecked. (p 230)
— “Remembering and telling the truth about terrible events are prerequisites both for the restoration of the social order and for the healing of individual victims.” — Judith Herman (p165)
July 12, 2021
What a disappointment. This book is about the author and not about the woman from Cedar Rapids. This novel should have been Who is Kathryn Dykstra. And that is not an interesting topic.
I would hope someone who researches a cold case might spend more than two days in the place where the crime occurred. I would hope the person would not look for the most exotic place to eat and then complain that no one was there while visiting the community where this happened. She takes to task the police department, but why should they listen to her when she investigates through someone else’s notes and a big giant distance? It is insulting to the memory of this woman who was killed at 18 to have this author use her death as an opportunity to preach about the injustices of a young woman’s life when Dykstra inserts so much of her life experience in place of Paula’s life.
I hate when people such as Dykstra take on the topic of life in flyover country as though people here are not sophisticated and backward. The description of jetting into this foreign place at only the regional airport just sets me on edge and makes what she said to be irrelevant.
The insipid comments about her own choices and her own struggles are what made this book impossible to finish. I did read the end of the book and once again the topic was the author rather than the case they supposedly kept the author up nights.
I would hope someone who researches a cold case might spend more than two days in the place where the crime occurred. I would hope the person would not look for the most exotic place to eat and then complain that no one was there while visiting the community where this happened. She takes to task the police department, but why should they listen to her when she investigates through someone else’s notes and a big giant distance? It is insulting to the memory of this woman who was killed at 18 to have this author use her death as an opportunity to preach about the injustices of a young woman’s life when Dykstra inserts so much of her life experience in place of Paula’s life.
I hate when people such as Dykstra take on the topic of life in flyover country as though people here are not sophisticated and backward. The description of jetting into this foreign place at only the regional airport just sets me on edge and makes what she said to be irrelevant.
The insipid comments about her own choices and her own struggles are what made this book impossible to finish. I did read the end of the book and once again the topic was the author rather than the case they supposedly kept the author up nights.
June 25, 2021
The book turns into a self-indulgent explanation of the author’s life and choices. The author rightfully complains that Paula’s death wasn’t taken seriously. Then, the author places her own story in front of Paula’s.
July 21, 2021
I could not finish this book, setting it aside 3/4 of the way through. The uneven writing, tangents, and brief and repetitive information about Paula Oberbroeckling's murder made my mind wander. This was especially disappointing as my interest level was high: I'm writing about cold cases myself, and this murder took place just an hour from where I live.
The quality of this book is surprising given all the resources Dykstra had to work with. The Cedar Rapids Police Department turned over its entire case file on Paula's murder. Some of Paula's family and people who knew her are still in Cedar Rapids. They gave Dykstra interviews. Yet she never seemed to get her arms around this case, and the details she provides are skimpy.
Instead, Dykstra indulges in tangents that come across as fillers. She writes in a meandering way about people who have nothing to do with this case, but who might have experienced something similar or whose views Dykstra thought were worth mentioning. There's a lot of information about illegal abortions, how painful and dangerous they were and how unskilled and unethical their practioners. She also effectively conveys the desperation of women then and now when any abortion is too expensive and they attempt one on their own.
The problem with this information is that this is not a book about abortion. We don't know that Paula had an abortion, much less that she died from one. In fact, given Paula's one-month pregnancy, I wasn't convinced she was pregnant - it's not unusual for young women to skip a period. To devote so much of the book to speculation feels off the rails.
I would have liked to see Dykstra taking more time and care with the case itself. She needed to build relationships with the people she interviewed, to talk to them more than once. Those case files should have been mined again and again and again for a forgotten detail. Had she put in this effort, Dykstra might have found someone who, after 50 years, was finally willing to talk. But we'll never know, as Dykstra seemed to breeze through town without understanding the complexity of the task she'd taken on.
Paula Oberbroeckling a beautiful girl from the wrong side of town, a girl courageous enough to openly date a black boy in 1970, matters. This book at least reminds us that she existed. But it would be a disservice to Paula to have it be the last word on the case. My hope is that a seasoned investigative journalist will also wonder what happened to Paula. Someone with the skills and willingness to be all in might shake loose secrets that have been held for 50 years. After what happened to her, ihat kind of effort is the least Paula deserves.
The quality of this book is surprising given all the resources Dykstra had to work with. The Cedar Rapids Police Department turned over its entire case file on Paula's murder. Some of Paula's family and people who knew her are still in Cedar Rapids. They gave Dykstra interviews. Yet she never seemed to get her arms around this case, and the details she provides are skimpy.
Instead, Dykstra indulges in tangents that come across as fillers. She writes in a meandering way about people who have nothing to do with this case, but who might have experienced something similar or whose views Dykstra thought were worth mentioning. There's a lot of information about illegal abortions, how painful and dangerous they were and how unskilled and unethical their practioners. She also effectively conveys the desperation of women then and now when any abortion is too expensive and they attempt one on their own.
The problem with this information is that this is not a book about abortion. We don't know that Paula had an abortion, much less that she died from one. In fact, given Paula's one-month pregnancy, I wasn't convinced she was pregnant - it's not unusual for young women to skip a period. To devote so much of the book to speculation feels off the rails.
I would have liked to see Dykstra taking more time and care with the case itself. She needed to build relationships with the people she interviewed, to talk to them more than once. Those case files should have been mined again and again and again for a forgotten detail. Had she put in this effort, Dykstra might have found someone who, after 50 years, was finally willing to talk. But we'll never know, as Dykstra seemed to breeze through town without understanding the complexity of the task she'd taken on.
Paula Oberbroeckling a beautiful girl from the wrong side of town, a girl courageous enough to openly date a black boy in 1970, matters. This book at least reminds us that she existed. But it would be a disservice to Paula to have it be the last word on the case. My hope is that a seasoned investigative journalist will also wonder what happened to Paula. Someone with the skills and willingness to be all in might shake loose secrets that have been held for 50 years. After what happened to her, ihat kind of effort is the least Paula deserves.
July 23, 2021
More aptly titled: "What Happened to this Book: On talking less about Paula and more about the Author"
July 11, 2021
This was a strange book. I am a true crime enthusiast and was looking forward to reading about another cold case of a forgotten girl. However, I became irritated and uninterested when the author started talking about herself and her experiences growing up as a woman and young mother. She often went on long tangents about people and situations that had no connection to Paula's case, such as the Ms. Dykstra's grandmother. I appreciated that the author tried to put Paula's life and death in the context of American culture and society in the late 1960s-early 1970s. I appreciated that the author had empathy with Paula's situations with her broken family home, dating experiences and unplanned pregnancy. But when the author tried to shoehorn her own experiences to coincide with Paula's, that where she lost my respect. First of all, Paula was much older than the author, more closer to the author's mother's age. So Ms. Dykstra and Paula grew up in different generations Secondly, the author's mother had the financial resources to send the author to college, ensuring Ms. Dykstra would have a better life than Paula's. In the end, the author and her mother-in-law only offered speculation. It seems Paula's case many never be solved as there was no DNA left from the crime scene and the people involved--suspects, detectives, family members, and friends--have mostly passed away. What we do have are a lot of mini-essays about the author, her own family and friends. It seemed Paula's case was just a backdrop for the author to write about her own life. This part I had not signed up to read about.
July 10, 2021
I got sucked into this book on July 9th 2021 and finished on July 10th, 51 years after Paula had gone missing. This story is not a true crime drama, but rather a reflection on the treatment of women in our American society, specifically young women prior to Roe. As someone who grew up in Cedar Rapids many of the references in the book were personal to me. The author even interviewed my high school classmate Matt Denlinger who helped to solve Michelle Martinko's murder. Growing up in Cedar Rapids after her murder I remember being explicitly taught to park my car in well lit parking lot areas, and to always look in the car before getting in- which I guess is another reflection of the author's primary thesis.... that women have to maneuver through this world differently than men.
April 23, 2021
An excellent insight into why women become victims of crime and how society needs to rethink their concepts of interpreting violence.
March 7, 2021
This impressive, important book is both a deeply reported true crime investigation and a feminist cri de couer. It also reads like a thriller. Katherine Dykstra is a wildly talented writer. I loved it.
August 17, 2021
This is part of a true crime subgenre that was popularized with I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara, where an amateur investigator becomes obsessed with a crime and writes themselves into the story. This book uses a true crime, the killing of 18 year old Paula Oberbroeckling in 1970, as a scaffold for the author to discuss her own life, trauma within her family, musings about feminism, sexism, etc... I see what she was trying to do, but it felt self-absorbed, and has the effect of centering herself in a story that should rightfully be centered on the victim. I also missed having a section with photos and maps in the book, which is really helpful, especially when the author makes a point of describing two photos of the victim in detail and how she felt drawn into the case by one of them. I wound up looking them up online.
February 16, 2023
Katherine Dykstra, author of “What Happened to Paula,” admittedly became almost obsessed with the facts once she started digging into what little was known about the case itself. The book details not just information about Paula, her family, her lovers, friends, and neighbors, but also details of similar cases, both solved and unsolved, as well. Sometimes I would become disoriented by the overwhelming minutia of facts that just made my head spin. And then, as I read through the final few pages of the afterword, I spied her face from the inside dust jacket. A picture featuring the author herself . . . haunted, absolutely haunted. Was this more a true story about Paula or the author?
July 14, 2021
Such a great book. A fascinating look at Paula Oberbroeckling's life and exploration of her unsolved wrongful death. Thoughtful and reflective about the worth of women, our place in the world, what we learn from each other. Not a typical true crime story--and actually advances the genre as a very timely look at the current fascination with crime, killing, and murdered women in particular. Didn't want to put it down, and saved many passages that I know will stick with me.
March 26, 2021
The death of a girl, American or otherwise, is a topic I would normally avoid, as are several of the subjects covered in this excellently crafted book. But Dykstra approaches ideas and themes that effect all women, in this country especially, with such skill, heart and rich storytelling that I was immediately invested. I learned about myself, our nation, our justice system, and--Paula (who represents so many women who are publicly invisible, but need our immediate attention). These are stories and revelations I will never forget.
A must read for women, mothers, teachers, lawmakers, activists--and anyone who considers themselves invested in social justice. I finished in two days and I'll be reading it again, soon.
A must read for women, mothers, teachers, lawmakers, activists--and anyone who considers themselves invested in social justice. I finished in two days and I'll be reading it again, soon.
July 11, 2021
Having grown up in Cedar Rapids, I was drawn to the story as I was living there (10 years old) at the time that Paula was murdered. Dykstra captures the feel of the place and time, exposing the misogyny that existed (and persists) and the effects it has on human relationships and human potential. It was not a case that was tied up neatly but, thanks to Dykstra, Paula will be remembered a little longer, by more people, despite the heartless attempts to dismiss what happened to her.
March 9, 2025
3.5
I have a lot to say about this book, but I’ll try to be concise…
It looks like a lot of readers expected a true crime book, and if that’s what you are looking for, you’ll be disappointed. Since I knew from other readers that it was not really just true crime, I went in with different expectations.
First, let me say that I am from Cedar Rapids. Aside from a few years in other places, I’ve lived here most of my life. My family has been here for generations. So I know all these places and I know many of the names. Ironically, I did not know of Paula Oberbroeckling. This seems so strange to me; I was a young child at the time she was killed, but I still knew about the murder of Jean Halverson, even if I didn’t know her name…I knew that Mohawk and Shaver Park were scary, and I didn’t want to go there because a Camp Fire girl had been murdered. And Michelle Martinko was a senior at my high school when I was a freshman…the best friend of my best friend’s sister, so obviously I knew about that. Why Paula’s killing didn’t have the same impact on the community’s awareness is certainly a valid and interesting question, and I think the author does an excellent job of exploring the answer by looking at the racial, socioeconomic and gender issues at play in 1970. It’s truly appalling that the investigation into her death was so, so sloppy.
Where the book got murkier, for me anyway, was where the author worked to create a sort of ley line through her own matriarchal traumas, eventually connecting them to Paula and then her own young daughter. Did I find them interesting? Mostly yes. But they were also somewhat distracting from the story of Paula, rendering her slightly less human and making her into more of a study. Not to say that any of the author’s observations or conclusions are invalid…it just somehow didn’t always work for me as a reader.
(As an aside, I think a photo of Paula and perhaps a map of the city would go a long way in making Paula’s story more accessible to readers outside of the area, and would have made the book seem less academic.)
The writing in the book is strong, and the research is excellent. There were times that the tone was a little condescending (example: “The neighborhood, called New Bo in an attempt at hipness…”) and the snarkiness, while maybe unintended, hit wrong. I’m also aware that we Iowans are maybe oversensitive to perceived slights, so there’s that. I do feel that the author could have injected less of herself into Paula’s story. Because whatever you feel about the book, her story does
deserve to be told.
I have a lot to say about this book, but I’ll try to be concise…
It looks like a lot of readers expected a true crime book, and if that’s what you are looking for, you’ll be disappointed. Since I knew from other readers that it was not really just true crime, I went in with different expectations.
First, let me say that I am from Cedar Rapids. Aside from a few years in other places, I’ve lived here most of my life. My family has been here for generations. So I know all these places and I know many of the names. Ironically, I did not know of Paula Oberbroeckling. This seems so strange to me; I was a young child at the time she was killed, but I still knew about the murder of Jean Halverson, even if I didn’t know her name…I knew that Mohawk and Shaver Park were scary, and I didn’t want to go there because a Camp Fire girl had been murdered. And Michelle Martinko was a senior at my high school when I was a freshman…the best friend of my best friend’s sister, so obviously I knew about that. Why Paula’s killing didn’t have the same impact on the community’s awareness is certainly a valid and interesting question, and I think the author does an excellent job of exploring the answer by looking at the racial, socioeconomic and gender issues at play in 1970. It’s truly appalling that the investigation into her death was so, so sloppy.
Where the book got murkier, for me anyway, was where the author worked to create a sort of ley line through her own matriarchal traumas, eventually connecting them to Paula and then her own young daughter. Did I find them interesting? Mostly yes. But they were also somewhat distracting from the story of Paula, rendering her slightly less human and making her into more of a study. Not to say that any of the author’s observations or conclusions are invalid…it just somehow didn’t always work for me as a reader.
(As an aside, I think a photo of Paula and perhaps a map of the city would go a long way in making Paula’s story more accessible to readers outside of the area, and would have made the book seem less academic.)
The writing in the book is strong, and the research is excellent. There were times that the tone was a little condescending (example: “The neighborhood, called New Bo in an attempt at hipness…”) and the snarkiness, while maybe unintended, hit wrong. I’m also aware that we Iowans are maybe oversensitive to perceived slights, so there’s that. I do feel that the author could have injected less of herself into Paula’s story. Because whatever you feel about the book, her story does
deserve to be told.
June 9, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed herein are mine alone and may not reflect the views of the author, publisher, or distributor.
As a lifelong true crime reader, I'm not sure why this sudden craze in consuming true crime popped up. Some infamous fandoms tend to make me question whether or not that's a good thing. But then there are podcasts like The Fall Line and Someone Knows Something that bring to light cases that haven't made the nightly news, cases where the marginalized voices we need to hear don't get heard. This happened to the very subject of WHAT HAPPENED TO PAULA.
Katherine Dykstra hits the nail on the head when she talks about true crime being necessary in opening up wounds that haven't healed, and in bringing justice to victims and families who have been forgotten or overlooked. Sure, we get creeps like Payne Lindsey, who take all the credit for doing nothing when a case has been solved, and even go so far as to nearly get innocent people arrested based on tissue-thin accusations. But people like Billy Jensen, Michelle McNamara, Leslie Rule, and David Ridgen work with compassion and intelligence and great respect for these traumas.
Now, if I may, we can add Katherine Dykstra to that list.
We can't always wrap something up, and sometimes--to my great dismay--there's no way of knowing why or how someone really died. Paula Oberbroeckling lived in an incredibly tumultuous time that was in no way friendly toward women who had sex. (You know, as women, being people, tend to do. Go figure.) In the days before Roe v. Wade--and if you weren't a white person of means--seeking out an abortion was an horrific affair. Dykstra examines the circumstances and socioeconomic setup that may have contributed to Paula's death. The police took Paula's disappearance to be a simple case of a young girl running away, despite a pile of evidence in favor of something being terribly amiss. Unfortunately, when they found her body, four months of exposure had wiped away any clues to how she had died, and who, if anyone, had claimed her life.
Because of the circumstances here, Dykstra can only give us more questions than answers: Was Paula really pregnant, or was it a scare? Did the normalization of domestic abuse and violence in an era where people tolerated violence against romantic partners lead to her death? Who is responsible for taking such a young life just in bloom? And what's more, are police complicit in a crime when they refuse to investigate it properly, or at all?
Paula's life ended when she was eighteen. By all standards, she was still a child. She left behind a mother and sister who feel that absence every day. Someone got away with dumping her body, whether or not they killed her. Dykstra doesn't pretend that she can solve this crime. She doesn't profess to knowing exactly what happened, and for that I commend her. She has a touch for the human element that gives these forgotten cases heart and humanizes the people involved. I genuinely hope Katherine Dykstra continues in true crime. She could be a valuable asset to the community.
As a lifelong true crime reader, I'm not sure why this sudden craze in consuming true crime popped up. Some infamous fandoms tend to make me question whether or not that's a good thing. But then there are podcasts like The Fall Line and Someone Knows Something that bring to light cases that haven't made the nightly news, cases where the marginalized voices we need to hear don't get heard. This happened to the very subject of WHAT HAPPENED TO PAULA.
Katherine Dykstra hits the nail on the head when she talks about true crime being necessary in opening up wounds that haven't healed, and in bringing justice to victims and families who have been forgotten or overlooked. Sure, we get creeps like Payne Lindsey, who take all the credit for doing nothing when a case has been solved, and even go so far as to nearly get innocent people arrested based on tissue-thin accusations. But people like Billy Jensen, Michelle McNamara, Leslie Rule, and David Ridgen work with compassion and intelligence and great respect for these traumas.
Now, if I may, we can add Katherine Dykstra to that list.
We can't always wrap something up, and sometimes--to my great dismay--there's no way of knowing why or how someone really died. Paula Oberbroeckling lived in an incredibly tumultuous time that was in no way friendly toward women who had sex. (You know, as women, being people, tend to do. Go figure.) In the days before Roe v. Wade--and if you weren't a white person of means--seeking out an abortion was an horrific affair. Dykstra examines the circumstances and socioeconomic setup that may have contributed to Paula's death. The police took Paula's disappearance to be a simple case of a young girl running away, despite a pile of evidence in favor of something being terribly amiss. Unfortunately, when they found her body, four months of exposure had wiped away any clues to how she had died, and who, if anyone, had claimed her life.
Because of the circumstances here, Dykstra can only give us more questions than answers: Was Paula really pregnant, or was it a scare? Did the normalization of domestic abuse and violence in an era where people tolerated violence against romantic partners lead to her death? Who is responsible for taking such a young life just in bloom? And what's more, are police complicit in a crime when they refuse to investigate it properly, or at all?
Paula's life ended when she was eighteen. By all standards, she was still a child. She left behind a mother and sister who feel that absence every day. Someone got away with dumping her body, whether or not they killed her. Dykstra doesn't pretend that she can solve this crime. She doesn't profess to knowing exactly what happened, and for that I commend her. She has a touch for the human element that gives these forgotten cases heart and humanizes the people involved. I genuinely hope Katherine Dykstra continues in true crime. She could be a valuable asset to the community.
September 7, 2021
I finally made it through this book, and I struggled. Not because it's a bad book--it isn't--but because for the second time this summer, I've read a glowing review of a "true crime" book only to find the book is not about the victim, or the crime, really, but about the author, and the review didn't make that clear. This has been an ascending subgenre and was done really well in I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, but that book had the advantage of a huge amount of factual information about the case that this book simply doesn't have. That's not the fault of the author--the investigation of Paula's disappearance and death hardly merits the name--but it is a pretty significant weakness. At this point the title is more ironic than anything because it lacks a question mark. Paula--the *real* Paula, not the author's projections of her--is less the subject of this book than the author's need to make sense of a young woman's disappearance. If that's what you're looking for, this might be a good read for you. But if you're interested in a cold case and the efforts to solve it, then you might want to give this one a pass.
June 15, 2022
This book is not what I expected. I have a bit of a personal connection to someone mentioned in this book, and she passed it on to me. While the parts about Paula's mysterious murder are interesting, I feel like the author made so much of this book "all about" herself. I didn't care about all of Katherine's personal details, I wanted to know much more about the crime that was committed. And really she didn't uncover anything new or singlehandedly solve the crime. So if you're going into this expecting all loose ends to be tied up, you'll be disappointed. This book just was not for me, but maybe that's personal preference and you'll enjoy it better. Not one of the best true crime books I've ever read.
March 23, 2021
Rather than a straight up true crime story, the author tends to make a sociology study of the time and situation. Well researched and written, yet I had trouble staying engaged at times. After finishing, I felt foggy about the story, rather than enriched. But that could just be me, most likely. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, author Katherine Dykstra, and the publisher.
August 1, 2021
Do we ever get to read about the murder, suspects, motives? I kept flipping past page after page when the author went on and on about HER mother, HER father, HER grandmother, HER relationships, etc. etc. How about Paula? Halfway through I gave up. Then I skipped to the end hoping to find out what happened to Paula. No idea. But I read page after page about what happened tp Katherine.
July 21, 2021
Only read this book if you want to read about the author’s life and political views. Not really about Paula’s murder. Do not recommend.
July 22, 2021
Whoa...This book blew me away. So well-written, eye-opening, thought provoking. Tragic, yet hopeful. Terrifying yet soothing. The author spent 6 years researching for this story and it feels complete. I couldn’t put it down and finished in 3 days ( fast for me)!
July 11, 2021
Such a powerful book, and tragic, not only about the death of Paula Oberbroeckling but crimes against women and how often overlooked.
June 17, 2021
I finished this book with tears in my eyes and a hand on my heart. This book is beautiful and smart and important and enraging and honest and vulnerable and true. I think it was mislabeled as True Crime, since it's less about "cracking the case" (she mentions this in the first few chapters) and more about how society views (and discards!) women - especially when we go missing. If a feminism/true crime/memoir/history book category existed, this is where What Happened to Paula would be. I especially love how Dykstra tied Paula's riveting story into her own, shining a light on all of our similarities and the judgment society places on us. She's such a talented writer and skilled journalist that I finished it in a matter of days (it was tough to put down, especially towards the end). I immediately passed it along, with my husband next on the list. I want him to know what life is like for me, and what's ahead for our daughter, too. This would be a wonderful book club read and is ripe for discussion. Dykstra did Paula - and women everywhere - proud.
June 16, 2021
I’m not the most committed reader. I usually nurse a book over the course of months to a year— pulled in different directions and distractions. This book was different. I rid myself of most of those pulls so that I could focus on the message and beauty of Dykstra’s writing. Because each word in this book is masterfully selected. What Happened to Paula is more than just an examination of the homicide of a teenage girl in the 1970s that was never solved. It is a study of women and our place in society and how historical systems continue to cast violence on us. Read this book!
June 24, 2021
Native Cedar Rapidian here-- extremely grateful for Dkystra's meticulous research on a type of crime and an area of the country that is so often overlooked. The sociological examination of my family's hometown is pretty dead on, although Dykstra's portrayal of the tensions between the east and west sides is overblown. That being said, although I grew-up hearing the stories of other murdered women in Cedar Rapids, such as Michelle Martinko, I had never heard of Paula's case, which speaks to the tremendous importance of this book. Dykstra is most effective when situating Paula's murder in the historical and social context of the area, but less so in the essays about her personal life. Overall, an exceptional read.
P.S. Go Cardinals and Packers! The Chicago fandom connection is exaggerated.
P.S. Go Cardinals and Packers! The Chicago fandom connection is exaggerated.
August 7, 2021
While I deeply appreciated some of the apt commentary on how Paula’s death - and all the ways she could have died - stood as a representation of violence against women in America, ultimately the book spent too much time as a self-reflection.
I think with more of a focus on parallels between Paulas death/case and continued violence against women, and less on the particular familial parallels between the author and her family, it would have been more engaging and - most importantly- made its point better. By trying to demonstrate all of the interconnectedness possible, the story was less powerful.
I think with more of a focus on parallels between Paulas death/case and continued violence against women, and less on the particular familial parallels between the author and her family, it would have been more engaging and - most importantly- made its point better. By trying to demonstrate all of the interconnectedness possible, the story was less powerful.
December 22, 2024
This book felt a bit mismarketed as a true crime book. It was more of a memoir on what it means to be a woman and mother, wrestling with beauty and violence, from the 1960s to present day, through the lens of a death.
August 2, 2021
Wonderful insight into women and how they have been treated. I could not agree more with Katherine on these issues. This would be a great book for women’s book clubs. I think it would create a lot of discussion.
I knew Katherine Dykstra and her family. I could not be more proud of her. Good job Katie! I am doing this book for a book club in Overland Park! I also sent out an email to my book club in Florida describing your book. I sent that out to 50 people. I think this is a terrific premise on women and their rights! How sad that we are going back 50 years in many states.
I recently learned about a cousin that I did not know that I had. My Mother’s sister was sent to live with her Aunt in Omaha. In her senior year of high school, she became pregnant. My (so called religious) great Aunt had her have the baby and then had her tubes tied. She said my hussy niece will never have a child again! The baby was given away and was never spoken of again. 70 years later, I got a call from the Nebraska Children’s home saying the cousin had died but her daughter wanted to learn about her Mother’s family. Of course I was delighted and called my brother and cousins. How sad that we never had the joy of learning about our family while my Aunts were living. Sad that so many people even today frown upon unwed Mothers.
I have protested many times over the years.,most recently in the Women’s March, gun violence, all lives matter, immigrants March and most recently the Black Lives Matter. I even mowed a yard of a black family unawares to them and left a note on their door saying Black Lives Matter! It’s not much but makes me powerful even though I know women have a long way to go! Thank you for this engaging and powerful book! One more step in the fight for women’s rights!
I knew Katherine Dykstra and her family. I could not be more proud of her. Good job Katie! I am doing this book for a book club in Overland Park! I also sent out an email to my book club in Florida describing your book. I sent that out to 50 people. I think this is a terrific premise on women and their rights! How sad that we are going back 50 years in many states.
I recently learned about a cousin that I did not know that I had. My Mother’s sister was sent to live with her Aunt in Omaha. In her senior year of high school, she became pregnant. My (so called religious) great Aunt had her have the baby and then had her tubes tied. She said my hussy niece will never have a child again! The baby was given away and was never spoken of again. 70 years later, I got a call from the Nebraska Children’s home saying the cousin had died but her daughter wanted to learn about her Mother’s family. Of course I was delighted and called my brother and cousins. How sad that we never had the joy of learning about our family while my Aunts were living. Sad that so many people even today frown upon unwed Mothers.
I have protested many times over the years.,most recently in the Women’s March, gun violence, all lives matter, immigrants March and most recently the Black Lives Matter. I even mowed a yard of a black family unawares to them and left a note on their door saying Black Lives Matter! It’s not much but makes me powerful even though I know women have a long way to go! Thank you for this engaging and powerful book! One more step in the fight for women’s rights!
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