Bullied to Death…It Almost Happened to Me by Christopher Rosalie

I ran across a recent article the other day that mentioned a book I reviewed previously, It Gets Better, by Dan Savage and Terry Miller and that mentioned the amazing work of the The Trevor Project. If you’re not familiar; The Trevor Project is an organization dedicated to preventing suicide among LGBT and questioning youth. For more information, check out their website at www.TheTrevorProject.org.

Much of the reason for the existence of the Savage/Miller book and their subsequent public service, “It Gets Better” project including all the videos that play on television and YouTube and for the existence of The Trevor Project is because of the alarming amount of bullying that queer and questioning teens are suffering at the hands of their peers. The bullying is leading increasingly to despair and ultimately to suicide for some. One of the things that seems to help these at risk kids the most, is the help of people who have been there, people who can relate.

To that end, I found a great but, unfortunately, little known book recently by one Christopher Rosalie called, Bullied to Death…It Almost Happened To Me. It was published this past March. Though the reviews have been good, it’s languishing down in the book ranking doldrums due, I think only to a lack of promotion.

I’m 45; I admit it. Christopher Rosalie is a few years older than me. Many would say, “he’s to old to write a book about teenage bullying” or “It’s been too long. Thing’s are different/harder now”. You get the picture. Don’t let his age keep you from reading this book or from getting it for someone you love that could use a hand up. Also, don’t think that this book is only for teens…there’s something here for everyone. If you’re gay and you’re not totally closeted, you’ve been bullied. Your age doesn’t matter.

This is a deeply personal book that took courage to write and to have published. I applaud Christopher Roasalie for sharing his story. I encourage everyone to read this.