Monthly Archives: April 2016

A Letter that Touched Me

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I vividly remember going to school the day of the stabbing and being floored by the rumors. I remember going home that night to be completely consumed by the news, calling friends and hearing the rumors. At the age of sixteen, having another 16 year old killed by one of my “friends” was about the most traumatic experiences I’d ever had. The next day at school, the somber atmosphere within our small group of friends was extremely dark.

I’m friends with a lot of people who were at Dartmouth High the day of the event. A lot of them are on my friends list on Facebook, and each April all those friends remind me of the tragedy when they all switch their profile photos to that of Jason. Each April I have been reminded of how much I hated Gator and Karter.

Then, I saw someone posting about your book on my feed. It was extremely negative feedback, asking for a boycott. Then, about a third of my friends list jumped on the bandwagon. However, your book piqued my curiosity for many reasons. I hadn’t Googled Karter in years, so I didn’t know he was released nor did I know he was up for parole. I didn’t know anything about him. I assumed he was gone forever, an old memory.

I bought your book 3 days ago, and finished it about 15 minutes ago. Your book brought back memories that I didn’t even know I had. Your book gave a voice to a person who has been a monster in my mind for 20 years. Your book was absolutely amazingly well written, and what you have done for Karter is absolutely incredible. I haven’t read a book that caused me to feel sick, and caused me to cry both out of sadness and happiness, ever. While I don’t agree with the timing of your book release, I wouldn’t have discovered it without that decision.

I have no way of contacting Karter, and he probably wouldn’t remember me if even I had stood face to face with him. But, if you could let him know that I wrote to you let him know that there are some souls from New Bedford that believe everyone can change, and that I’m extraordinarily proud of him and his progress to become an example for the thousands of others who made a earth-shattering mistake as a child.

Anonymous”

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                       photo by Emily Breitbart from reading at Porter Square Books                                   

Boy With A Knife Debuts

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Last week I posted the first radio interview on my new book and Karter Reed was kind enough to join me and talk about the pain and hope he lives with every day. The tragedy of Jason Robinson’s murder never subsides but Karter’s dedication to building a new life in honor of the families he harmed is ever-present. You can listen to him below in my last post.

This week some excitement for me begins on Tuesday, April 12, with the #twitter launch of Boy With A Knife. After seven years! Join me 8:30-11:30 am or pm to ask a question about my book or make a comment of justice for juveniles.  I take to heart James Baldwin’s famous words:”For these are all our children. We will all profit by, or pay for, whatever they become.” Use the hashtag #BWAK and I’m at @justicewithjean.

Also, Amazon will have a low price that day if you want to buy my book–no proceeds go to anyone involved in the crime.

I had a very important interview about the book with Bentley professor Marc Stern on April 10. A history prof, he asked important questions and had read the book with intense interest. You can listen to “Room With A View” here at WMBR, April 10, about 30 minutes in, and the HTML5 link worked perfectly for me. From that interview, my favorite question was when Marc asked to to explain what I meant by “justice” in the book title.

Caroline Leavitt’s very cool blog will feature her cool brand of Q&A about Boy With a Knife on Monday, April 11th.

Also incarcerated writer Christopher Zoukis is reviewing my book on Huffington Post this week. How, you ask, does that happen from prison? He writes it behind bars and send it to someone who submits it to him. One of the most dedicated prisoner writers I know.

This week I’m talking to students about BWAK at Merrimack College and at Wheelock College, and have my first reading at the Andover Book Store!