The Books Roberta Laundrie Referenced (Patreon)

Roberta mentioned in March 2023 that she was referencing "Little Bear" and "The Runaway Bunny" in her letter to Brian. 

They are quite similar, check out from 10mins30 on this read-along of Little Bear: https://youtu.be/52z7rkm1LF4 

Have you seen how many children's books have been banned in recent years? Here's an example: https://tinybeans.com/kids-books-and-childrens-books-that-are-banned-books/ 

** Rant and Personal Opinion Alert** (Do we need the trigger bunny? Yes!) 

Well, then I'd like to add these books to the list, please. Why? Because while it might seem cute and innocent in some ways, it's also not giving the little bunny much choice to form their own opinion, to have their own feelings, and never gets to the core question: Why do you want to run away from me? What is is that I am doing that makes you feel like running away? Roberta used references from books she may have read to him as a little boy when he was 22 years old. She was trying to appeal to his inner child, she felt abandoned (clearly) - this manipulation tactic did not work. Her baby-man left her FOR A ROAD TRIP anyway (for perspective, it was only a road trip, he was going to be away for 3-4 months and within 7 weeks he murdered the love of his life and was back home to hide in mommy's arms). 

She also watched as Gabby worked several jobs to save up for her van, while Brian sat comfortably at home and "sold his art on Instagram", which was a load of horseshit and tracing/copying other people's work. Baby Boi was coddled and enabled all his life and had likely bottled up his feelings all of his life. Some mothers cannot, will not, do not let go of their sons- it's inappropriate. If it's a healthy bond, they will likely enjoy reaching out in a healthy way when they're all grown up, and vice versa. If they don't, that's their right, their choice, and while it may hurt a lot, the invisible risk was always there. (There are no guarantees in life with anything, anyway). Treating them like POSSESSIONS is a red flag for coercive control, stalking, narcissism, gaslighting, abuse and all the other KAK that comes with it. 

Unfortunately, as is so often the case (and there is ZERO EXCUSE for what he did), those bottled up feelings surfaced (rage/pain/feeling smothered) and he took them all out on Gabby. Is it Roberta's fault? Well, she needs to be held accountable for raising an entitled, over-coddled little man-child who, by all accounts, was a domestic abuser. Listen to the Zoe Dronfield case on the Crime Analyst podcast and hear how that abuser's mother enabled him. It's sickening! (Episode 51-53, if you are going to check it out). Sadly, lots of abusers have mommies saying "It's okay, I am here for you always". That type of unconditional love needs some boundaries and addressing asap. Was Gabby PERFECT? No one is! But let's not forget that she was murdered, she is the victim, she was a young woman physically abused by a guy who was just along for the ride, he told her he didn't believe in her, and now she is gone. And for those who like to argue that she said she hit him first - sometimes victims fight back, sometimes that costs them their life. Sometimes the help that comes along may also be domestic abusers, like the lead cop who assisted them that day. 

Brian was evidently a lazy guy and he just wanted to cruise around and look at the stars, eating melons with ZERO sense of responsibility- no WIFI, no coffees, no making content (he expressed this in some of his final Instagram posts, remember?). He wanted the beach bum lifestyle. She had AMBITION and he didn't like that. It was "his way or no way", it seems, which again, is a huge sign that the relationship was abusive and can sometimes become a life-threatening form of control. He was so possessive and so out of touch with the reality of adult life (like, hello, where is the money, big boy?!) that his little fits escalated into big ones. 

Again, it is 100% Brian's fault and responsibility for killing Gabby, that's not on Roberta. But! What did she do when he did in fact need to 'dispose of a body'? He called her and she got him a lawyer immediately. "Any parent would do that", is what many people say. That's the problem. Lawyering up might be step one... step two is CALL THE POLICE. Turn that baby boi in. Do the right thing. She couldn't even trust Brian to burn the damn letter she so "light-heartedly" wrote. He was not fit to survive in the real world/the adult world at all. Prison sure would've been a wake up call for him. I don't think he would've survived that either. I mean his mommy had already inserted herself there too - don't worry baby boi, I will bake you a cake with a file in it... (eyeroll). 

He took his entitled self to the creek and had the last word, as sooo many abusers and killers do. He did not know how to deal with his feelings. One needs to allow children to develop the ability to express their feelings in a healthy way. Thankfully more people are starting to talk about this, which will hopefully make a positive impact, eventually.  

Reminder: I LIVED the life as an only child with parents who are extreme coercive controllers. I was not allowed to have a voice, an opinion, and was not allowed to question whether I wanted to be a swimmer or not, whether I wanted to be a pilot or not, and what my favorite color was. Once one obliterates a child's identity, voice, mind, etc., they go numb and become people-pleasers, the ones who nod along and let anyone do anything they want to do to them, they have NO BOUNDARIES and it takes a shit-ton more trauma, abuse, and help to finally get to the point where that tiny little voice surfaces and says NO! It's AWKWARD to learn to set boundaries as an adult. I have been working my ass off for over a decade now to be able to HAVE AN OPINION, to walk away from people who are inappropriate or hold my mind hostage in their own little grubby way, to realize that charm and help may come with ulterior motives/conditions, and to navigate life as a traumatized, yet FIERCE and RESILIENT person. If I can do it, you can do it. 

Final thought for now: Overprotecting children can also quickly become a case of projecting your own traumas and fears onto them, stomping all over their boundaries, silencing them, and not allowing them to be human. Great parenting at any age comes with great responsibility, which includes holding people accountable.  No covering up of crimes, okay?! Please never tell yours kids (or me or anyone) that you will help them hide a body, bring a shovel, bake a criminal cake, or bring trash bags. Tell them if they ever kill someone you are calling the police immediately. If they hit anyone/abuse them, you are calling the police immediately. Remember, being a softy or your child's bestie also means YOU don't have boundaries, SET THEM and make them clear. 

Okay time for a forest walk! Will take some video clips/photos for you and share later/tomorrow so as not to spam your inbox! 

Thank you for supporting my work, you encourage me to use my voice to raise awareness in true crime and missing person's cases, to snark it up where appropriate, to call out the BS where it needs to be called out, and to LEARN from these devastating cases as much as we can. 

Love, 

Gisela.