ABOUT THIS BOOK

In August 1995 David Kaczynski's wife Linda asked him a difficult question: "Do you think your brother Ted is the Unabomber?" He couldn't be, David thought. But as the couple pored over the Unabomber's seventy-eight-page manifesto, David couldn't rule out the possibility. It slowly became clear to them that Ted was likely responsible for mailing the seventeen bombs that killed three people and injured many more. Wanting to prevent further violence, David made the agonizing decision to turn his brother in to the FBI.

Every Last Tie is David's highly personal and powerful memoir of his family, as well as a meditation on the possibilities for reconciliation and maintaining family bonds. Seen through David's eyes, Ted was a brilliant, yet troubled, young mathematician and a loving older brother. Their parents were supportive and emphasized to their sons the importance of education and empathy. But as Ted grew older he became more and more withdrawn, his behavior became increasingly erratic, and he often sent angry letters to his family from his isolated cabin in rural Montana.

During Ted's trial David worked hard to save Ted from the death penalty, and since then he has been a leading activist in the anti–death penalty movement. The book concludes with an afterword by psychiatry professor and forensic psychiatrist James L. Knoll IV, who discusses the current challenges facing the mental health system in the United States as well as the link between mental illness and violence.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

David Kaczynski is the past Executive Director of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in Woodstock, New York. An anti–death penalty activist, Kaczynski served as the Executive Director of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty from 2001 to 2012 and has given hundreds of public talks throughout the United States about mental illness, the death penalty, and healing in the aftermath of tragic violence. He is also the author of the poetry chapbook A Dream Named You.

James L. Knoll IV, MD is the Director of Forensic Psychiatry and Professor of Psychiatry at State University of New York Upstate Medical University and has served as a consulting forensic expert for the ACLU, as well as for many law enforcement agencies including the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice.

REVIEWS

"Compelling and quietly dramatic, the author's story, which is followed by a brief afterword by psychiatrist James Knoll, seeks not to excuse his brother but rather to humanize him. As Knoll suggests, understanding the mentally ill 'with an open heart' is an activity in which not only affected family members, but also the whole of society must engage for the good of all. Powerfully provocative reading."

-- Kirkus Reviews

"David Kaczynski’s reflective and resolutely unsensational memoir reveals how difficult it was to accept even the possibility that his older brother, Theodore, might be a terrorist."

-- Scott McLemee Inside Higher Ed

"In Every Last Tie, Mr. Kaczynski gives a compelling personal account of his relations with his brother and the anguish he experienced upon realizing that Ted was one of the most wanted terrorists in America."

-- Edward Jay Epstein Wall Street Journal

"This slim, intriguing book is the story of a family whose two sons lead different lives. David Kaczynski's voice is quietly thoughtful, and his writing is lovely; he ranges from family anecdote to psychological puzzle to philosophical musing while retaining an even tone. Every Last Tie is both a straightforward story and a complex consideration of an extremely difficult one."

-- Julia Jenkins Shelf Awareness

"[R]emarkable for its slenderness, humility and tact. ... Kaczynski devotes a thoughtful, affectionate chapter to each member of his immediate family."

-- Susan Choi Washington Post

"Every Last Tie is extraordinarily insightful—but also instructive. By analyzing his own capacity for causing pain, David brings his brother close enough to learn something from him."

-- Malcolm Harris The New Republic

"[T]he perspective on these events is obviously somewhat different when offered directly from a family member, not filtered through the eyes of a reporter. ... [Kaczynski] succeeds at the most difficult task of a book like this, writing about his brother’s victims with sensitivity and restraint."

-- Michelle Dean The Guardian

"The book is an admirable attempt to examine Ted’s early life, offering us glimpses of a more psychological humanity. Most important, David reveals the roots of Ted’s affinity for nature and his increasing alienation from a world that he saw as driven by technological advancement and a digital revolution. ... [M]any of the recollections are revealingly intimate instances of a precocious but troubled boy."

-- Nathan Smith Pacific Standard

"We already knew that the younger Kaczynski was a compassionate and ethical man–he turned in his brother, but only after he thought that the death penalty was off the table. This memoir reinforces what it took for him to lead authorities to Ted, and offers ways for the rest of us to move forward with empathy."

-- Kel Munger Lit/Rant

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface xi

1. Missing Parts 1

2. Life Force 31

3. Ghost within Me 61

4. North Star 81

Afterword / Dr. James L. Knoll IV, MD 105

Acknowledgments 137

Index 139

REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE

If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you with an electronic file for alternative access.

Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.

It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.