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April 20, 1999. The day the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, CO that left 12 students, one teacher, and two perpetrators dead. Dylan Klebold was one of the shooters. Sixteen years later, Sue Klebold, Dylan's mother, wrote A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy. I listened to it on audiobook; it is narrated by Klebold.

Klebold has always kept a journal. Her journal entries provided much of the material on how dramatically their lives changed that tragic day as well as the ensuing years unearthing and struggling to understand what caused her son to become a killer. The scariest part of the book, and the key message she is portraying, is that there weren't any obvious signs that Dylan's thoughts had turned to harming others and himself.

I admire Klebold's raw, poignant, gut-wrenching self-reflection and remorse. 100% of the proceeds of the sale of A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy are donated to organizations that advocate for suicide prevention, mental health, and violence.

I was working in Littleton, CO in 1999 and vividly remember being out for lunch when the news came on the radio. I raced back to work because we had employees who had children who attended Columbine High School. My husband and I kept the television off that day until our two young children went to bed. We did not sleep well that night because we knew many parents were awake in their homes because their children at Columbine did not come home from school that day.

The next day as I drove to work, a friend of mine called me and asked if I had spoken to my five-year old son about what happened at Columbine. I replied, "Absolutely not." My friend had just listened to an interview with a psychologist who advised that parents speak to their young children about Columbine. The psychologist indicated that if parents don't speak to their kids about the event, the kids would hear about it on the playground from their classmates.

I went to my son's elementary school and removed him from class so that I could take him to a nearby Burger King and have a conversation about Columbine. It broke my heart that I had to have that conversation. The surprising thing was the great questions that he asked me, including "If bad people come into my school, what do you want me to do?"

I can't even begin to imagine the horror and grief that all parents experience when their children die due to violence. Klebold's book helps all of us look for and inquire about signs of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and any other indicators of mental health issues.