This month I am participating in the A-Z April Challenge. To learn more about this exciting challenge http://a-to-zchallenge.com
I Felt God’s Pain will be the title of my second book. It is also a true story. It is about the suicide of my husband’s 17 -year –old son, John and the devastatingly painful effect on his 15- year -old brother. The reader will struggle with the father as he tries to put the pieces together and be there for his younger son, as he spirals out of control.
It will also provide warning signs and resources for teens and parents as well as the positive affirmations of a fathers love for his son.
This is a difficult story to write but I feel as compelled to write it as I did to write BRISTOL bOYZ STOMP. I also feel a great responsibility to get the story right. We are losing 1000’s of teenagers every year to suicide. The numbers are staggering and frankly unacceptable.
As I wrote in my “D” post, Depression is a dangerous condition. Yes, there are medications to alleviate the symptoms of depression but you also have to find the cause of the depression and work at removing these causes. This takes commitment and responsibility. One message I want to stress to parents with this book it is to monitor your teen’s medication. Far too often, they feel better and stop taking it. This can have deadly side affects.
Another message will be that bullying is real and it hurts deeply. As a parent, I am not sure what is harder to learn, that your child is a bully or that your child is the victim of a bully. Keep in mind, young bullies could be being bullied at home, the victims of child abuse or a witness to violence. They need help.
I believe as a society we are making great strides at removing the stigmas attached to mental illnesses. I have great hope that we are moving in the right direction when I see young people like Melissa Ann Hopely working so hard to spread the message of Hope. Melissa wrote the forward for BRISTOL bOYZ STOMP and is working on writing her own story. Take a look at some of her work:
