Author Judith A. Yates
http://www.judithayates.com/index.html
First, I want to thank Judith A. Yates, Wild Blue Press and
NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.
Bullied to Death? A Story of Bullying, Social Media, And the
Suicide of Sherokee Harriman by Judith A. Yates is an incredibly powerful, eye
opening book, of how hateful verbal bullying effects someone emotionally, self-esteam,
mentally and eventually to the point of doing harm to themselves. This is a
book EVERY Parent, Uncle, Aunt, Health Teachers, Social Workers must read to
understand our youth today and help if we see bullying happen.
Kudos to Elijah Toten for the incredible book cover design.
That is what originally drew me to the book itself. After seeing the tile of
the book and the blurb I knew I had to read it. I am a huge fan of true crime
books and this seemed like it was literally ripped from the headlines. Plus, as
a middle schooler and high schooler I was bullied at school for being born
differently. However, never in a million years would I think of ever doing what
Sherokee did!
This book is dedicated to Sherokee Rose Harriman and other
countless children whom struggle daily with too many issues far too early in
life.
Judith Yates mentions in her book that this is not a
fictionalized version of the death of Sherokee Rose Herriman. She based this
book on thousand of hours of interviews, social media research, cell phone record
search, police reports, legal transcripts, photos, media, court reports, etc.
Names and descriptions have been changed to protect their privacy.
Social Media however is exactly how it as appeared, without
correction to spelling or grammar, in effort to remain true to the story.
My heart goes out to all the young people Judith talked to
dealing with suicide, loneliness, depression, self-mutilation, dysfunctional
home lives, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse and bullying. All of
this BEFORE they are 16 years old!! I want to hug each one of these people she
interviewed and tell them it is not their fault!! They don’t deserve any of
this!! This breaks my heart!!
I am very grateful to hear/read that Judith will be giving a
percentage of the book sales to a national non-profit organization that focuses
on education about and preventing teen suicide!! This donation will be in memory
of Sheokee Harriman whom we lost too soon to suicide! We need to do more to
prevent suicide and to save the lives of our children.
In the Acknowledgments Judith thanks Sherokee’s family for
their bravery and willingness to share their story of their daughter. I cant imagine how hard it was for them to relive
their story. However, I agree that if it can save the life of one more child it
is all worth it. Thank you for sharing your story with us! To her friends I am deeply
sorry for your loss.
For Sherokee at age 14 was bullied beyond control by girls
at school. She was called vulgar names and yet she didn’t know them or do anything
to provoke this. She didn’t have the best life growing up and was at her
breaking point. The beginning few chapters will pull on your heart strings. You
will need tissues. You will realize how strong family and friends are in a time
of crisis as well. The scene in the park and the aftermath just blew me away!
In this book the author mentions Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
and the history of it and how it played a role in Sheokee’s social media experience
online.
We also learn about the family history and how it comes full
circle to the events that lead up to the death of Sheokee. It is ironic but all
too sad. My heart goes out to Heather more so for going through the abuse she went
through on top of loosing her daughter.
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