On April 20, 1999, teenagers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold started shooting fellow students at Columbine High School outside of Denver. Less than an hour later they had killed 13, wounded more than 20, and committed suicide. It was the worst high school shooting in U.S. history. Unfortunately, it would not be the last.
Dave Cullen’s “Columbine,” widely recognized as the definitive account of the tragedy, dispels many myths about the tragic event and provides insight from the world’s leading forensic psychologists, and the perpetrators’ own words and drawings, to help explain what led the two teens to kill.
For the last 16 years, Dylan Klebold’s mother Susan has lived with the unimaginable shame and sorrow of that day. In grappling with the tragedy, she wonders what happened to her once-promising son. Were there signs she missed? Had she, as a mother, done something wrong? Could she have done anything differently?
In “A Mother’s Reckoning,” Susan chronicles with unwavering honesty her journey to attempt to come to terms with the unimaginable actions of her son. (All author profits are donated to mental-health related research and charitable organizations.) She traces her family’s life from their earliest days through the wrenching aftermath of the devastation her son left behind, which she knows will never end for her family or the families of those whose lives were taken on that horrible day.
Emotional and unforgettable, Susan draws on numerous interviews with mental health experts, as well as the videos and writings Dylan left behind, to understand brain health issues. She hopes the insight she has gained will help other families recognize a child in distress.
With over 11% of the U.S. teens aged 12 to 17 suffering from at least one major depressive episode in 2014 (according to the National Institute for Mental Health) and school shootings continuing to occur, the need for understanding is urgent indeed.