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A review by pacific_blue4
She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall by Misty Bernall
4.0
It was not until I was well into She Said Yes that I discovered that the book's title, not to mention numerous passages and even a few chapters, are incorrect. While reading the book, I thought I'd look some things up on it and stumbled upon what everyone is now saying is the truth: that the young man who heard one of the shooters ask a student if she believed in God and her reply yes before being shot had mistaken the girl as Cassie Bernall. Further investigation revealed that Cassie was not asked this; it was someone else.
You might be wondering at the four star rating, then. I have no insight into why Misty Bernall still chose to publish the book if she did in fact know that former reports about Cassie being a martyr were wrong, or, as I've noticed that some reviewers have taken offense, why she wrote the book so quickly after her daughter's death. I will not comment on either point, only on the impact this story had on me, despite a portion of it being untrue.
The book covers the shooting, Cassie's death, and then back tracks to before the tragic event at Columbine took place, to a time when the Bernall's home was not so peaceful. Cassie's mother gets an urge to find a Bible given to her daughter when she was much younger. She is having some major issues in their relationship and feels that she needs some help in interacting with Cassie and remembers this Bible that has tips for parents. Upon finding it, Mrs. Bernall also discovers some shocking letters in which Cassie and her best friend discuss their hatred of their parents and that they want to kill them, along with one of their teachers.
Let's just say that the Bernall's reaction is quick and strict. If they had not taken the harsh steps they took to not only protect themselves but to also pull their daughter out of the hole she'd gotten into, there's no telling what might have happened. Granted, she did later die in the shootings at Columbine, but something greater took place in her life before it was taken. Though she is not a martyr, her story is extraordinary, and I feel that much can be learned through her parent's experience as well as Cassie's and her transformation. This was a girl who had taken the wrong path, had the wrong friends, and then had her heart changed by God.
There's probably a shooting or stabbing or murder at least once a day when I watch the news. In a country where the youth are killing one another and destroying the lives of others and their own, we desperately need a solution. Though this book contains a lie, it also contains excellent tips and lessons on how one girl was saved even though it seemed impossible. She may have been murdered at Columbine, but that's not the end of her story. I highly recommend this book to parents who think their children and teens are totally out of reach. And I also recommend it to young people who feel lost. When we want to give up and just believe that there is absolutely nothing else that can be done to save our children, then there is something very wrong. It's not about being their buddy but their keeper. Even if they hate the strictness and hate us for a long time until they finally understand why, it's worth the fight. I came away with something very positive from a story that is so tragic. Cassie's life and her pain and, finally, her change of heart, have touched my heart as well.
You might be wondering at the four star rating, then. I have no insight into why Misty Bernall still chose to publish the book if she did in fact know that former reports about Cassie being a martyr were wrong, or, as I've noticed that some reviewers have taken offense, why she wrote the book so quickly after her daughter's death. I will not comment on either point, only on the impact this story had on me, despite a portion of it being untrue.
The book covers the shooting, Cassie's death, and then back tracks to before the tragic event at Columbine took place, to a time when the Bernall's home was not so peaceful. Cassie's mother gets an urge to find a Bible given to her daughter when she was much younger. She is having some major issues in their relationship and feels that she needs some help in interacting with Cassie and remembers this Bible that has tips for parents. Upon finding it, Mrs. Bernall also discovers some shocking letters in which Cassie and her best friend discuss their hatred of their parents and that they want to kill them, along with one of their teachers.
Let's just say that the Bernall's reaction is quick and strict. If they had not taken the harsh steps they took to not only protect themselves but to also pull their daughter out of the hole she'd gotten into, there's no telling what might have happened. Granted, she did later die in the shootings at Columbine, but something greater took place in her life before it was taken. Though she is not a martyr, her story is extraordinary, and I feel that much can be learned through her parent's experience as well as Cassie's and her transformation. This was a girl who had taken the wrong path, had the wrong friends, and then had her heart changed by God.
There's probably a shooting or stabbing or murder at least once a day when I watch the news. In a country where the youth are killing one another and destroying the lives of others and their own, we desperately need a solution. Though this book contains a lie, it also contains excellent tips and lessons on how one girl was saved even though it seemed impossible. She may have been murdered at Columbine, but that's not the end of her story. I highly recommend this book to parents who think their children and teens are totally out of reach. And I also recommend it to young people who feel lost. When we want to give up and just believe that there is absolutely nothing else that can be done to save our children, then there is something very wrong. It's not about being their buddy but their keeper. Even if they hate the strictness and hate us for a long time until they finally understand why, it's worth the fight. I came away with something very positive from a story that is so tragic. Cassie's life and her pain and, finally, her change of heart, have touched my heart as well.