My Novel: Bully another Day

It is hard to believe that it has been almost twenty years ago since a dear family member had been bullied in middle school. The school principal’s solution was to tell this family member to just toughen up, to not be so sensitive. Apparently, the bully had some sort of behavioral problem and therefore was allowed to roam to the terror of the general school public. I guess the bully had more rights than my family member. Thankfully, this family member was able to be home-schooled and is now a successful professional and is almost 32 years old. Thankfully, this family member had the support of family. This family member most certainly did not have the support of the public school system. It had failed miserably then; over twenty years later I see that the public school system continues to fail.

Just last week, there was a school shooting at the high school I graduated from over forty years ago. Granted, back then there were fist fights and disagreements, but never was any firearms involved. I remember our principal was a former United States Marine and ran our high school like we were his troops. We feared him; we respected him; and, we loved him dearly because we knew we were safe under his watch. He was fair. He was compassionate. Above all, he demanded order. He informed us that actions have consequences. He drilled it into us that we alone were responsible for our screw-ups. Nobody else was to blame. That was empowering. We learned that we were in charge of our own actions and those actions had consequences. Period. No excuses. No and, if or buts.

I graduated and went on to college as did the majority of my classmates. Over the years, I have seen former classmates and I have heard them voice the same opinion of our principal. We felt safe. We felt listened to. My high school was in a neighborhood that would be classified today as “inner city.” It was comprised of hard-working, decent people who raised families to respect teachers, to respect police, and to respect oneself. I will be forever proud that I grew up in that neighborhood. It was what would be called today “multicultural.” We just called it home, sweet home.

Returning to my earlier reference to my bullied family member, I began to wonder exactly what the repercussions of bullying has on those who are mentally ill. What if the victim of the bullying is mentally ill? What further damage does that do? What would the consequences be on that bullied person?

This is when I began writing “Bully another Day.” It is a work of fiction. The main character Johanna is mentally disturbed, she gets bullied by three girls in high school, and years later she still holds on to the events. Needless to say, the book explores these ramifications. It includes vengeance, murder, and in the end redemption. It is more of a psychological thriller than a murder mystery, although it is a blending of the two.

Currently, it is only available in hardback. I am arguing with myself about whether to put it on Kindle. I like an actual book. I guess not everyone else does, though.

It is available on Amazon Books. Just search Jenny W. Andrews, Bully another Day.

And please be kind, if you choose to leave a book review.

I wrote this from my heart. It really isn’t about money or fame. I felt that I had this heaviness on my heart, especially when I read about school bullies, and I think back at how things could have turned out differently for my beloved family member had nobody intervened.

It is also heavy on my heart when I think about how things might have gone differently for those involved in school shootings if someone had only stepped forward and intervened.

Finally, if you know someone is being bullied, please say something. It never gets any better, in fact, silence only emboldens a bully. Retaliation, unfortunately, can be the consequence of bullying. These are some things to think about. God have mercy on our children in the public school system. It is indeed a failure. Only God can save it.

Thank you so much for reading.

Jenny W. Andrews Copyright 2021