Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich Books In Order

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich is an award-winning author whose memoir ‘The Fact of A Body’ put her on the first track to literary stardom. While Alexandria considers herself to be a relatively private persons, limiting her interactions online with fans to literary matters, she took quite the leap when she delved into her own personal demons in ‘The Fact of A Body’, this earning her a spot on many bestseller lists.

+Biography

Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich’s groundbreaking memoir was born out of her own personal suffering. The author’s passion for the law was sparked when she was a child. She was infatuated by the idea of using legal means to bring a little bit of justice into the world.

The author was especially taken by the death penalty. Alexandria remembers being on vacation with her family during her earliest years and learning about the electric chair from her brother.

The idea that society as a whole could go so far as to agree to take a life using methodical and intentional means rubbed her the wrong way. Her parents, being lawyers, encouraged their daughter’s curiosity in the matters of the law.

By the time her college years came around, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich knew exactly what she wanted to study at Harvard. It wasn’t enough for the author to simply learn how to use the law to initiate justice.

Alexandria needed to understand why the courts thought it acceptable to sentence people to death. And because Alexandria was so repulsed by the idea of the death penalty, she made it a point to acquire all the tools she needed at Harvard to fight it wherever the opportunity arose.

It came as little surprise when, in 2003, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich interned at a New Orleans death penalty defense firm. It was there that she was introduced to Ricky Langley, a man that had been sentenced to death for the murder of a little boy only for Ricky to be tried again years later and sentenced to life in prison.

The case was meant to be a prime example of what Alexandria was fighting for. Considering her staunch repulsion towards the death penalty, she should have rejoiced in Ricky Langley’s fortune.

But then Alexandria looked into the case. She found out that Ricky hadn’t just killed his six-year-old victim. Rather, the murderer was also a pedophile and child molester and it was generally assumed that he had abused his young victim.

Upon learning of the extent of Ricky’s crimes, Alexandria came to hate him. More than that, she wanted him to die. The intensity of her hate and the conclusion to which she came was a shock to Alexandria. Considering her strong stance against the death penalty, she couldn’t believe that she was suddenly advocating it.

The author’s fans understand why she reacted this way, though. They know that it wasn’t a manifestation of her hypocrisy but, rather, the result of Alexandria’s past demons surfacing.

When she was three, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich’s maternal grandfather started sneaking into her bedroom and molesting her. He was often charged with watching the kids, so he had pretty easy access to her.

The molestation continued for five years. When Alexandria’s parents found out, to her horror they chose to sweep the whole incident under the rag. They showed clemency to the old man rather than going to the police. They didn’t even cut ties with him, let alone confront him on the issue.

They acted as if nothing happened. This was a serious betrayal to Alexandria. And while the abuse stopped, Alexandria was never the same. She spiraled for a while, struggling with habits like drinking before she got her act together.

When she read his file, Alexandria didn’t see Ricky Langley. She saw her grandfather and everything he had done to her.

Alexandria was so shaken by her encounter with Ricky Langley’s file and the reaction it elicited that she decided to dig into his life. She explored his past, the difficult upbringing he lived through and the events that brought him into his six-year-old victim’s life.

Alexandria wanted to understand Ricky because she knew it would help her make sense of her grandfather and the situation she suffered.

‘The Fact of a Body’, the book for which Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich is best known, is a blend of her life and that of Ricky. The author collected every scrap of information she could find about Ricky and used it to reconstruct the pedophile’s life.

Then she recounted everything she had learned in her book, this while also infusing elements of her own past into the pages of ‘The Fact of a Body’. Alexandria did not set out to write a book.

She wanted to produce a short essay that provided glimpses into her life. Over a period of ten years, that essay evolved into a book. The project initially haunted the author because it caused some truly dark memories to surface.

But over time, the writing process became therapeutic for Alexandria who was finally able to deal with her harrowing past.

+The Fact of a Body

Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich is the child of two lawyers and she has always opposed the death penalty. Her opinion on the matter has never wavered. When Alexandria joins a Louisiana law firm, she expects to take up the fight against the death penalty.

But then the law student reviews the case of Ricky Langley, hears him describe his crimes and finds that she wants him to die. Her reaction forces her to dig into Ricky’s case, haunted by the similarity between his victim’s experience and her own history.

As she explores Ricky’s life, Alexandria is forced to take a long hard look at her own past.

+Waveform

Waveform is an anthology to which Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich contributed. The book explores notable women essayist and the impact they have had on contemporary literature.

Alexandria joins a diverse group of women to add her voice to the thirty essays within this anthology. The book doesn’t have any particular theme. There isn’t a central subject matter.

Rather, each author uses their personal experiences to try and make sense of the world, availing a variety of styles, voices, and structures. Emphasis is placed on those women who are changing the essay landscape today.