A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy
On April 20, 1999, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris carried out a horrifying mass shooting at Columbine high school that left 13 dead and 24 injured before they took their own lives. Sue Klebold, Dylan's mother, has spent the past 16 years examining her memories of her son, her choices as a mother, and her own complicated grief. By using her journal entries, Dylan's writings and videos, mental health research, and expert testimony, she presents an unflinching and introspective account of her family's life both before and after the massacre — all in the hope that her story will help another family recognize signs of depression or violence in their own child.
Quote:
"There is a world between where I stand now and the view I had before Columbine, when our family life looked like that of a typical suburban American family. In more than a decade of searching through the wreckage, my eyes have opened — not only to those things once hidden to me about Dylan and the events leading up to that day, but also to the realization that these insights have implications that extend far beyond Columbine."
Author:
Sue Klebold is an advocate for suicide prevention and mental health research. She is donating all author proceeds from A Mother's Reckoning to various mental health charities, including Mental Health America (MHA), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), American Association of Suicidology (AAS), and Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.
Published: 2016
Length: 336 pages
Set in: Columbine and Littleton, Colorado, United States