Alone Among the Living a true story of an adolescent's grief over his fathers murder

Alone Among the Living a true story of an adolescent's grief over his fathers murder by Hoard, G. Richard. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780820316109.

Alone among the Living recalls the two most trying years of Richard Hoards long struggle to come to terms with his fathers murder. Writing candidly and movingly of that dark period, Hoard tells how he self-destructively acted out his grief, how despair nearly overwhelmed him, and how his spirit finally began to heal. Floyd "Fuzzy" Hoard, the authors father, was the prosecutor in rural Jackson County in the North Georgia hills. A classic small-town hero, he was a courageous public servant, a respected community leader, and a former professional athlete. Floyd Hoard was killed in his own driveway on August 7, 1967, by a car bomb planted by members of a local bootlegging ring. His son, fourteen-year-old "Dickey" Hoard, was the third person to arrive at the scene off the explosion. Knowing in his heart that his father was already dead, Dickey nonetheless tried to resuscitate him. Eventually, five men were convicted of taking part in the murder. Details of the bombing, subsequent investigation, and nationally covered trial are woven into Hoards memoir, which presents a previously untold perspective on an incident still remembered by many Georgians. Floyd Hoard was the central figure in Dickeys life, though the son sometimes felt the fathers disapproval. As Dickeys anguish over his dead father grew, so did his regret over their differences, which centered on Dickeys seeming lack of direction and commitment. He became desperate for a way to somehow demonstrate a seriousness about life to the man, for a way to secure his "blessing." Dickeys solution was to immerse himself in sports - a pursuit in which his father excelled, but about which he was ambivalent. High school, an insecure, emotional time in any adolescents life, became intolerable under such self-imposed pressures. Unable to articulate his pain to what he viewed as an indifferent world, Dickey alternately withdrew and then openly rebelled, especially at home. Looking back, Hoard recalls how, with no sense of purpose, he drifted from crisis to crisis - contemplating suicide, attempting to run away from home, bickering with his family, and alienating all but his most steadfast friends. Unwillingly at first, Dickey was drawn back to church, which he rarely attended after his fathers death. Almost two years after his fathers murder, he had a spiritual awakening and found the strength to accept the loss and make peace with himself. Gritty in its details, and never didactic, Alone among the Living is a heartfelt story of an adolescents immersion in grief, and of his survival through grace.