School Shooting rates are at its peak these days, and there have been more than 18 shootings this year and it’s still trending up. It is sad that people are pro life on abortion but are pro National Rifle Association ironically. Doctor Megan L. Schultz, an Emergency Medicine Children’s Hospital Doctor at Medical College of Wisconsin, published an article in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on July 7, 2022. She wrote that the guns are the #1 cause of deaths in American Children. She wrote about how devastating it is to witness childrens with gunshot wounds as an emergency physician. This is extremely heartbreaking to me and it makes me sad to feel what mothers and families had to go through after the loss of their children. Last week, we had a lockdown drill at school. While we were practicing, I realized that this is now a new normal. Today, many children and youths go to school everyday with the fear that someone will walk to my school with the gun in their hand and scar the community for the rest of their life.
Today, I will be sharing a story about closure, moving on, and grief of losing a loved one to gun violence. I present to you the book Mockingbird by the wonderful author Kathryn Erskine . This book is inspired by the Virginia Tech shootout in 2007.
Caitlin, a Fifth grader with Aspergers Syndrome has gone through the loss of her older brother, Devon in a school shooting. Caitlin however can’t feel the complex emotions of grief or putting herself in other people’s shoes. Luckily, Mrs. Brook, her therapist, is there to help her process the feeling of loss and sadness. Caitlin, her dad, and her community have been in shock after the shooting and they are trying to cope with the pain they all share. Everyone has been shaken by this incident. Students and teachers are scared to go to school knowing that there may be another shooting. At the end, Caitlin finds a way to cope with the trauma and finds closure by finishing an unfinished project by Devon. If you like books about coming of age, and life struggles, this book is for you.
Please borrow or order this book to read about Caitlin’s journey.