Debut YA Author Sara Kocek Talks About Suicide
Prevention Week, Lady Gaga, and How Fiction Can Make a Difference
Hi, everyone! Sara Kocek here. I’m the
author of the contemporary YA novel PROMISE ME SOMETHING (Albert Whitman Teen),
and today I’m thrilled to be making a guest appearance here at Becky’s Barmy
Book Blog.
In honor of Suicide Prevention Week,
which begins tomorrow, I thought I would take this opportunity to discuss some
of the darker elements in my book. While PROMISE ME SOMETHING has plenty of
lighthearted moments, it also tackles some weighty subjects, including
bullying, homophobia, and teen suicide. Without giving too much away, let’s
just say that a certain character in the book kills herself in part because her
friends, family, and teachers react cruelly when she comes out to them as gay.
One
of the hardest things about writing my book was doing research on this subject.
There was one day in particular when I sat down and typed “gay teen suicide”
into Google, hoping to find some statistics or details that would help me
understand what drives so many gay teens to the brink of depression. I thought
reading the stories of real gay teens would help make my gay characters more
believable.
What I didn’t realize was just how many news stories I would find from all
over the globe—terrible, tragic news stories that left me feeling outraged and
heartbroken. I sat there for hours reading true stories of teens who were betrayed
in the worst possible way by their families, schools, and churches, and who
ultimately took their own lives as a result. The most disturbing part of this
research was the fact that the same cast of characters appeared in nearly every
story. I saw the same culprits again and again: teachers making bigoted comments
in class; parents teaching their children to feel ashamed; students relentlessly
bullying their peers with hate speech that they sometimes didn’t even realize
was hurtful.
The upside of my research was discovering all
the anti-bullying organizations that exist, and all the people who are working
hard to create a safer, kinder, more tolerant world for gay and straight teens
alike. From the
Trevor Project (a 24-hour, national crisis and suicide prevention lifeline)
to The National
Center for Bullying Prevention to GLSEN
(The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network), educators, celebrities, and
student leaders are working tirelessly to prevent bullying in schools, provide
resources for students, and to serve as support for teens in crisis.
But my favorite organization of all is The Born This Way Foundation. Led by Lady Gaga and her
mother, Cynthia, the BTWF aims to “reach youth and create a new culture of
kindness, bravery, acceptance and empowerment.” I am a huge fan of Lady Gaga, especially
how she uses her star-power to promote such a strong, clear message of love and
tolerance. Lately I’ve been following her #BRAVEstamp campaign, which asks teens to share a
message of bravery by completing the sentence “I am brave for…” on their wrist
in black marker. If my character Olive weren’t fictional, she would totally have a BRAVEstamp on her wrist.
It would say “I am brave for Grace.”
I didn’t have a political or social
agenda in mind when I first set out to write PROMISE ME SOMETHING. I just had
characters floating through my head, and I wanted to get them down on paper.
But somewhere along the way, I realized that bullying and homophobia are issues
I feel incredibly strongly about. And I started to feel hopeful that maybe my
book could have a positive influence on teen readers—readers who, like Reyna,
are confronting certain prejudices for the first time in their lives—prejudices
that have been passed down from their families and, in some cases, their
religions.
While PROMISE ME SOMETHING is a work of
fiction, these issues are far too real. So if you are a fan of the book, I want
to encourage you to take an active role in preventing bullying and homophobia
in your community. If you have time to get involved with an anti-bullying
organization or afterschool club, great. But if not, why not start with
something even simpler? Be kind to those around you. Be tolerant. Be accepting
of people’s differences. And most importantly, as Olive says to Reyna, “Follow
your better nature.”
Thanks
for following along on the blog tour, and thanks for reading!
Title: Promise Me Something
Author:
Sara Kocek Publisher: Albert Whitman & Co.
Whitman
Teen, 2013). She received her BA in English from Yale University and her MFA in
Creative Writing from New York University, where she taught fiction and poetry
to undergraduates. A freelance editor and college essay coach, Sara has served
as the Program Director at the Writers’ League of Texas, a literary nonprofit.
She is also the founder of Yellow Bird Editors,
a team of freelance editors and writing coaches based in Austin, Texas.
Link to author(s)’ websites: www.sarakocek.com and/or www.sarapolsky.com
Next stop on the tour tomorrow:
Sunday, September 8
The Mod Podge Bookshelf
http://themodpodgebookshelf.
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