What do you think?
Rate this book
The Reckoning: Searching for Meaning with the Father of the Sandy Hook Killer
First published in The New Yorker, “Solomon tells the story of Peter Lanza, the father of Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook Elementary shooter. Read it—it’s moving, brave and just profoundly human and sad....There aren’t any answers. And that’s what makes this all so impossible, and Solomon’s journalism so essential” (Salon.com). “Both parents loved Adam. Neither parent imagined or wanted their child’s horrific end. This is why what Peter Lanza did by sharing his story with Andrew Solomon is so important. Lanza’s story fills important gaps in our understanding of how a beloved child became a killer—and reminds us as a society that we have an obligation to help families and children before they find themselves on irreversible paths of violence” (Time).
30 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2014
About the author
Andrew Solomon
49 books1,522 followersAndrew Solomon writes about politics, culture, and health. He lives in New York and London. He has written for many publications--such as the New York Times, The New Yorker and Artforum--on topics including depression, Soviet artists, the cultural rebirth of Afghanistan, Libyan politics, and deaf culture. He is also a Contributing Writer for Travel and Leisure. In 2008, he was awarded the Humanitarian Award of the Society of Biological Psychiatry for his contributions to the field of mental health. He has a staff appointment as a Lecturer in Psychiatry at Cornell Medical School (Weill-Cornell Medical College).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 17, 2015
The courage of this father, the depth of his loss, are incomprehensible. Imagine not only losing your son in a school shooting but discovering that he was a murderer, a cold-hearted killer of children, and has earned the lasting hatred of the sane world... As a pastor said at the funeral of one of the Columbine shooters, "These are the loneliest families in America." Parents are assumed to be complicit; certainly, Adam Lanza's mother, the custodial parent, provided the weapons he used at Sandy Hook Elementary (and paid for it with her own life) but Lanza's father helps us understand how difficult it would be for the parent of a troubled but not (yet) violent kid to foresee the moment when that child becomes a mass murderer. This story stands with Dave Cullen's "Columbine" as necessary insights into the family lives of "ordinary" kids who explode.
April 24, 2016
Perfect
It's such a tough situation, so wrought with emotion, and the author finds a perfect tone to talk about it. Very illuminating!
It's such a tough situation, so wrought with emotion, and the author finds a perfect tone to talk about it. Very illuminating!
March 29, 2018
Not great, written in a detached way, emotionless and disappointing.
January 16, 2021
This was very good bt way too short!
July 28, 2023
Sandy Hook was one of the most tragic mass shootings ever to occur. For many years, it was theorized that Adam Lanza acted upon pedophilic tendencies. Why else would someone attempt to destroy their own hard drives with a drill just before committing their 'final' act?
Nearly a decade later, in 2021, the internet discovered a Youtube account most likely associated with Adam Lanza. I use the phrase 'most likely' because the Youtube channel's content aligns with Adam Lanza's philosophy as expressed during his call to Anarchy Radio, where he discussed a chimp that had attacked its owner. The manner in which he spoke also aligns with this account, and Youtube deleted the channel just days after its contents were leaked on Reddit.
This philosophy included antinatalism, quotations from terrorists like Ted Kaczynski, and discussions of mass killers. There was also an eight-part series titled, 'On Pedophiles and Children.' All of the content, including transcripts, can be found on schoolshooters.info.
It's distressing to consider that a father, who did his best to maintain peace with his troubled son, was unaware of the reasons of the tragedy until most likely now. I can't imagine lying in bed, wondering if I had done something wrong. I would have done the same thing and studied literature and papers on school shootings.
I gave the book three stars mainly because I wished it had been maybe twice the length. Nonetheless, it was still a good read.
Nearly a decade later, in 2021, the internet discovered a Youtube account most likely associated with Adam Lanza. I use the phrase 'most likely' because the Youtube channel's content aligns with Adam Lanza's philosophy as expressed during his call to Anarchy Radio, where he discussed a chimp that had attacked its owner. The manner in which he spoke also aligns with this account, and Youtube deleted the channel just days after its contents were leaked on Reddit.
This philosophy included antinatalism, quotations from terrorists like Ted Kaczynski, and discussions of mass killers. There was also an eight-part series titled, 'On Pedophiles and Children.' All of the content, including transcripts, can be found on schoolshooters.info.
It's distressing to consider that a father, who did his best to maintain peace with his troubled son, was unaware of the reasons of the tragedy until most likely now. I can't imagine lying in bed, wondering if I had done something wrong. I would have done the same thing and studied literature and papers on school shootings.
I gave the book three stars mainly because I wished it had been maybe twice the length. Nonetheless, it was still a good read.
March 30, 2025
This is a short but essential book. Anything Andrew Solomon writes is undoubtedly engrossing and poetic. He is a master of the English language.
I empathize with Adam Lanza, or at least the kid before he killed 28 people. His existence was painful and confusing. He was mentally unwell. He was also missing something in his character that stops other mentally unstable people from acting out with such disregard towards the innocent.
The barbaric, gutwrenching evil act of eliminating the lives of 28 human beings is unforgivable. This book wasn't about the victims, but about a father's reckoning with his son, a monster. A father who ultimately comes to the only logical conclusion he can - He wishes Adam was never born.
The world would have been a better place without Adam in it. His autism and mental illness were no excuse for the violence he visited upon so many human beings, most of them innocent children. Those left behind now surely live in hell on earth. The ripple effects of this one act over time are innumerable.
Maybe in some other world, in some other multiverse, he kills only himself. I'm not confident anyone could have done anything to change the eventual outcome of his life. He was born defective and smart enough to realize it, and angry and anti-social enough to act out his anger on people who deserved to live and love.
I empathize with Adam Lanza, or at least the kid before he killed 28 people. His existence was painful and confusing. He was mentally unwell. He was also missing something in his character that stops other mentally unstable people from acting out with such disregard towards the innocent.
The barbaric, gutwrenching evil act of eliminating the lives of 28 human beings is unforgivable. This book wasn't about the victims, but about a father's reckoning with his son, a monster. A father who ultimately comes to the only logical conclusion he can - He wishes Adam was never born.
The world would have been a better place without Adam in it. His autism and mental illness were no excuse for the violence he visited upon so many human beings, most of them innocent children. Those left behind now surely live in hell on earth. The ripple effects of this one act over time are innumerable.
Maybe in some other world, in some other multiverse, he kills only himself. I'm not confident anyone could have done anything to change the eventual outcome of his life. He was born defective and smart enough to realize it, and angry and anti-social enough to act out his anger on people who deserved to live and love.
August 13, 2020
The mystery reigns
I enjoy the writing of Solomon. In my opinion, he is able to reveal complexities of subject matter most find difficult to approach. Yet there doesn't ever seem to be a moment where he doesn't recognize the humanity in it all. No one will ever to be able to make sense of that morning.
I enjoy the writing of Solomon. In my opinion, he is able to reveal complexities of subject matter most find difficult to approach. Yet there doesn't ever seem to be a moment where he doesn't recognize the humanity in it all. No one will ever to be able to make sense of that morning.
December 30, 2017
Brief summary interview of Adam Lanza's father
This book is a quick read but is really an interesting overview of Adam Lanza's early life. No one seems to know much about him beginning in 2009. A necessary read on this subject. You can feel his father's pain clear as day.
This book is a quick read but is really an interesting overview of Adam Lanza's early life. No one seems to know much about him beginning in 2009. A necessary read on this subject. You can feel his father's pain clear as day.
July 21, 2025
Interesting and super quick read
January 21, 2017
Another Sandy Hook book
This book was just another perspective on this horrible tragedy. I can understand the father's need to share but this act of sharing somehow makes it all somehow seem worse.
This book was just another perspective on this horrible tragedy. I can understand the father's need to share but this act of sharing somehow makes it all somehow seem worse.
October 23, 2014
Excellent reporting.
August 15, 2015
Gripping.
Raw.
Heartbreaking.
Raw.
Heartbreaking.
June 26, 2016
Heartbreaking.
September 2, 2016
I feel like I'm missing part of the book. Is it really this short?
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews