Nineteen Minutes

In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five....In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it. In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge. (copied from the book)
I recently read best selling author Jodi Picoult's book “Nineteen Minutes”. I can’t seem to get it out of my head. This book should be on every parent’s must read list. In this book Jodi tackles bullying on so many different levels. She also makes you think how well do you really know your child/children. This book really makes you think and to realize how important it is to try to stop bullying all together.

Have you ever been bullied as a child or teenager? I know I was. Growing up, we lived about 10 blocks from our public school. My father had passed away when I was 11and my mother never drove or learned to drive. We had no choice but to walk to and from school each day as there were no buses for our route.

Growing up, a neighbor girl who lived across the street from my house for some reason chose to pick on me. I was smaller than her, two years younger than her and definitely not a fighter. I remember the fear I had walking home from school each day. I never knew when she’d jump out at me and start a fight. I never did anything to her but she took great pleasure in picking on me and seeing me cry. Even changing the route that I walked home didn't help as she'd end up finding me. My mother tried to step in and talk to her mother about the bullying and even that didn't help. Her mother just stood there & yelled at my mother. (You could see where she got it from). Even getting the school involved didn’t help as she never bullied me on school property. I had no choice but to put up with her bullying that finally stopped when they moved away. I was never so happy to see someone go.

If you want a good book to read, Nineteen Minutes is definately the one. But even if you don’t read it…. Talk to your children about how important it is not to be a bully and to help those who are being bullied.