Bigger than Life: A Murder, a Memoir (American Lives)

244 Pages·2007·0.63 MB·English

by  Dinah Lenney

American Lives Series | Editor: Tobias Wolff
A Murder, a Memoir
Dinah Lenney
University of Nebraska Press | Lincoln and London
© by the Board of Regents of the
University of Nebraska. All rights reserved.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
A portion of chapter originally appeared under
the title “Deal” in 6<C> Online, agni.bu.edu.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lenney, Dinah.
Bigger than life : a murder, a memoir /
Dinah Lenney.
p. cm. — (American lives)
>H7C (cloth : alk. paper)
>H7C (cloth : alk. paper)
. Gross, Nelson, –. . Lenney, Dinah.
. Murder—New Jersey—Case studies.
. Millionaires—Crimes against—New
Jersey—Case studies. . Children of murder
victims—United States—Biography. . Fathers
and daughters—United States—Biography.
. Murder victims’ families—United States—
Biography. I. Title.
=K
C6

'—dc
Set in Monotype Dante by Kim Essman.
Designed by A. Shahan.
For Eliza and Jake
Acknowledgements ix
. Prologue: Eliza Wants to Know
. The Contents of the File
. The Last Visit
. Missing
. Just Business
. Still Missing
. Driving Lessons
. Waiting
. My Old Man
. The House with the Gate
. I Remember
. Albert and Rose
. Acting
. Eulogies
. Christmas with Dogs
. Looking for Crumbs
. The Drama of the Not
Particularly Gifted Child
. October,
. Mementos
. Messages Received
. Nelson and Leah
. Coming and Going
. Mythology
. Two Fathers
. My Father under My Fingernails
. Resentment
. Conjecture
. Uncles
. Recovery
. Keeping in Touch
. Family Gifts
. After Life
. A Pretty Good Day
. Coda
Thanks to Benjamin Weissman, who got the ball rolling and to
Kitty Swink and Diana Wagman who read and listened so well
from the start. I’m grateful, also, to Amy Gerstler, Sue and
Larry Rodgers, Maia Danziger, Kit Rachlis, Bill Ayers, Alan-
na Hamill, and Walter Owen, good readers every one. Susan
Cheever, Pam Galvin, Stephen Molton, Bonnie Solow, Debo-
rah George, Leslie Ayvazian, and Courtney Pledger believed
in the book and passed it around. U.S. Attorney Stuart Rabner
was an invaluable resource, as was my mother, Leah Lenney,
a stickler for accuracy of detail and syntax, and I’m bound to
acknowledge my uncles, Paul and Michael Gross, who made
time to share their recollections. I can’t leave out Janice Shap-
iro, Emilie Beck, Jack Arky, or Jim Krusoe, all of whom offered
insightful critique, or Mary Lou Belli, for her unrelenting faith
in the project and in me. Most recently I’m indebted to Sariah
Dorbin, Erika Schickel, and David Ulin for their concentrated
attention, and to Timothy Schaffert for his discerning eye. If
not for the Bennington Writing Seminars, I don’t suppose I’d
ix