A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy

Sue Klebold

Feb 2016 · Sold by Crown

About this ebook

The acclaimed New York Times bestseller by Sue Klebold, mother of one of the Columbine shooters, about living in the aftermath of Columbine.

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Over the course of minutes, they would kill twelve students and a teacher and wound twenty-four others before taking their own lives.
 
For the last sixteen years, Sue Klebold, Dylan’s mother, has lived with the indescribable grief and shame of that day. How could her child, the promising young man she had loved and raised, be responsible for such horror? And how, as his mother, had she not known something was wrong? Were there subtle signs she had missed? What, if anything, could she have done differently?
 
These are questions that Klebold has grappled with every day since the Columbine tragedy. In A Mother’s Reckoning, she chronicles with unflinching honesty her journey as a mother trying to come to terms with the incomprehensible. In the hope that the insights and understanding she has gained may help other families recognize when a child is in distress, she tells her story in full, drawing upon her personal journals, the videos and writings that Dylan left behind, and on countless interviews with mental health experts.
 
Filled with hard-won wisdom and compassion, A Mother’s Reckoning is a powerful and haunting book that sheds light on one of the most pressing issues of our time. And with fresh wounds from the Newtown and Charleston shootings, never has the need for understanding been more urgent.
 
All author profits from the book will be donated to research and to charitable organizations focusing on mental health issues.

— Washington Post, Best Memoirs of 2016

Ratings and reviews

I was always drawn to this case. And waited for years to hear from the parents. I empathize with the boys and their families somewhat more, always have once I deeply looked into every bit of evidence available to the public, and realized how screwed up the situation was on both sides. But the only regret I have about this book is the way sue goes along with Eric being total influencer. And making it sound like her boy was an angel and it was sorta frustrating. But nice to hear her side and reactions and what she did to accomplish this book. She's a survivor and a very strong beautiful mother. Thank you Sue.

A heartfelt account of a mother"s grief and personal journey coping with the acts and death of her son Dylan. There are many lessons of compassion and refraining from judgment.

Very raw, very heartbreaking flip-side of the story we think we know. I found somethings hard to stomach, however, there is no denying her sorrow and guilt. Worth the read.

About the author

Sue Klebold is the mother of Dylan Klebold, one of the two shooters at Columbine High School in 1999 who killed 13 people before ending their own lives, a tragedy that saddened and galvanized the nation. She has spent the last 15 years excavating every detail of her family life, and trying to understand the crucial intersection between mental health problems and violence. Instead of becoming paralyzed by her grief and remorse, she has become a passionate and effective agent working tirelessly to advance mental health awareness and intervention.