Sue Klebold is the mother of Dylan Klebold who was one of the perpetrators of Columbine murder-suicide. This book was eye-opening to me. I’ve always thought the ones who commit suicide or murder are brought up in an environment of abusive or neglecting parents, but that is not true.

There was an ‘aha’ moment when Sue realized that the Columbine shooting was a ‘suicide’ before it was murder act – at least for Dylan. Suicide is not a normal act meaning people who commit suicide has a mental health issue — which Sue labels as “brain health.” Health is not something that parenting can control. When a person has depression, that person loses control of his/her thoughts and decision making abilities. It is not fair to say, “people who commit suicide are losers who give up life.” If they had a clear mind and proper decision-making abilities, they would not have killed themselves.

When a person wants to hide or lie, he/she can fool anyone, even to the ones who are closest to them. Humans are not good lie-detectors. Although people who commit suicide leave hints here and there, we are not usually good at collecting and treating those hints as something imminent.

This book profoundly changed my view towards people with brain health issues and people who commit suicides. I know I will have this book in my mind when I raise my children.