If Walls Could Talk

One woman's incredible true story as a survivor of partner abuse—and the shocking murder that ended it all. How could I have let this happen? This was the torturous question circling through Sandee Jo Schankweiler’s mind as flashing red and blue lights cast eerie images against the backdrop of trees surrounding her home in rural Tennessee. In disbelief, she watched as a police officer placed his hand on the top of her seventeen-year-old son’s head to guide him into the back seat of a patrol car. For years, Sandee Jo had lived on “Someday Isle.” Someday, she would escape her abusive husband, Tommy. Someday, her children would be safe. Someday, she would live free from fear. But now, her worst fears had come true. Her husband, Tommy, lay dead from a gunshot wound to the head. He would terrorize his family no longer, but their safety had come at an unimaginable price. Sandee Jo watched as the police cruiser drove away into the night, her gentle first-born son’s face expressionless through the window. How could this have happened? In this riveting memoir, Sandee Jo Crocker shares her story to empower those enduring partner abuse to break free, and to equip those who love them to advocate on their behalf, as she shares dark secrets which previously could only have been revealed . . . If walls could talk.