I agree. It seems only reasonable to conclude she's angry and wants to hit out. I feel they are all in a strange place where none have been able to grieve him because they don't know for certain what happened and even if they found out he had taken his life that doesn't resolve things. Anger is maybe all some people have? Reading through the thread and parts drawn from the book my impression based only from these posts is that she feels shut out, doesn't matter if that's true or not or of her own making or not, he had a life with the band she knew little of because as she herself as said he didn't talk about it with her and of course she wasn't there...our big brothers grow up. It doesn't sound like she saw the box passed to Jo personally and the band have had a platform for feelings she's had no means to express. Conversations and impressions are skewered maybe to fit her own perspective....these ideas expressed at some point by Jo (who didn't want to be interviewed for the book it seems clear? and the band haven't spoken of her because it's private but also because they have said they didn't know her.....if there's no connection it's easy for her to therefore become used as the 'oracle') that he was unhappy with the persona he had - Rachel and/or SHR? blames the band but Richey spoke publicly of his frustration....He was so young when he started out I don't know if he realised that when you portray an image that's what you're in danger of becoming for good. People won't see past it. Pigeon hole ticked. Fuck all the political history on The Holy Bible and tell me more about the self mutilation and anorexia...of course that must have been frustrating and he can only have blamed himself/felt trapped surely, precisely because he wasn't an idiot.
I can understand her anger, hear me out, because she was his sister and the band were around him so much through the time up to his disappearance why didn't they do more.....of course it's an unfair question, why didn't she, why didn't his family, why , why why.... what about his family, allusions to church, moving house, 'they fuck you up your mum and dad...they may not mean to but....'.....you can look at everything and find nothing makes sense ....for things to make sense there must be someone to blame. Maybe there is and maybe there isn't and maybe it's a bit of lots of things all mixed up and maybe, weirdly, the band were actually just too damn close and you're often the last person who can help when you're too close
I don't recall Nicky blaming the church in part for Richey's problems - blamed The Priory's pseudoreligious bollox for not helping and he was surely right. I do recall Richey talking about being stuck on the idea of reconciling yourself with a God, didn't have to be God could be someone God-like in your life but everyone dies/leaves so how can they be God....as I think that's something like the first of the 12 steps it really wasn't gonna fecking help an over-thinker was it???
Maybe if he has criticised beyond this it grates because she's found solace from the church. It is weird families and religion.....speaking as a erm brought up now lapsed Catholic it isn't true that it messes you up completely, too easy to blame it for that, but when you no longer follow it you can remain close to family members who do but there can be, I dunno, it's a mindset that shapes so many ideas that you just can't share, it can be distancing and confusing but I digress....
William's Last Words reads like a suicide note. Rage is maybe all she's got?
SHR is just too inexperienced. It doesn't sound like a biography more an outlet of despair and anger...In need of a good deal of editing before publication but really in need of a more experienced writer who would talk to everyone and remain objective. Maybe scrap the book and pick up the phone...
The not knowing is impossible to reconcile with but maybe it's not just not knowing what happened to him for sure but the uncertainty about ever having truly known him completely at all. But who ever does know anyone else completely.....not anyone who is worth knowing anyway! I remember The Times said it's in a way a biography of someone who disappeared long before he actually did.