Leftovers

Since we had just finished our choice novels and our multigenre projects, I thought it would be fitting to tell a little bit about the book I read. The book was called Leftovers, by Laura Weiss, and was about two young women's struggle through adolescence. It shares what it feels like to be society's outcasts, and how it can impact lives forever. The book does a great job of making the character's, Blair & Ardith's, lives/stories believeable and relatable.
The book also addresses many common issues of today's society, like cutting, assault, rape, and injustice, but did so in a subtle way so that the reader could understand where the girls were coming from. Many stories of children & adults alike that have suffered like Blair & Ardith did haven't made the headlines, but there are many that did.
Finally, children who were once contemplating suicide have a place to go and look for help. Cyberbullying isn't taboo and schools are learning to treat these complaints with the severity that they have needed for years and years. Some of these stories may be familiar to you, also the people I did my multigenre project on, but read the stories close & think about how they affect YOU personally - in school, at home, at work, wherever. They are true stories, and could happen here too.



Pheobe Prince : I'm sure most of you have heard her story and the outcome. Pheobe was bullied so relentessly that she killed herself - she hung herself in the stairwell to their second story apartment and was found by her younger sister. She died on January 24th, 2010 and was only fifteen years old. Her story is a common one, one we have probably all heard before. She was bullied for dating a popular senior football player, both physically and verbally, and reached out for help before turning to suicide. She was a recent immigrant to America, but her story does have a happy ending. Six children from her school were prosecuted for charges ranging from harassment to statutory rape, & resulted in the enactment of the anti-bullying legistlation in Massachusetts.



Seth Walsh: His story wasn't as well known as Pheobe Prince's, but is even worse than her story. Seth was only 13 when he committed suicide by hanging from a tree in the backyard of his own home for persecution at school for being openly homosexual. He was smart, funny, quirky, and a person all his own. He was talented in ways people never recognized, and was supported at home for his sexual identity. He had many friends, but didn't matter when people started teasing Seth in sixth grade.

"Shawn joshed that his brother could be "a pain in the butt" at times but that Seth was "the best big brother in the world — no, the galaxy" - Shawn Walsh, Seth's younger brother speaking at his funeral.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2023083,00.html#ixzz1M3SC9etA

 

He was a person that was someone other people wanted to imitate. He treated others with utmost respect, even the people that bullied him. He was a model to the way people should treat others, and it was a shame he had to die for something he couldn't control.

 

 

So think about these stories next time you want to make fun of someone (: