PADUCAH, Ky., Nov 24, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Dec. 1 will mark the 11th anniversary of the Heath High School shooting in Paducah, Ky., one of the nation's first mass school shootings. Just as it did in 1997, that date will fall this year on the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Eight students in a prayer circle that morning were shot by 14-year-old freshman Michael Carneal. Three were killed. Five were injured. Missy Jenkins, a 15-year-old sophomore at the time, was paralyzed from the chest down.
Jenkins, now 26, is a school counselor, public speaker, community volunteer, wife, mother and author. Her highly touted book, "I Choose to be Happy: A School Shooting Survivor's Triumph Over Tragedy," has been endorsed by Diane Sawyer of ABC News, Robin Meade at CNN Headline News and Sarah Brady with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
"Missy breaks your heart, puts it back together again, and makes you a believer -- in forgiveness, faith, and how the strength of one girl can change the world," said Sawyer.
"Through Missy's narrative, you'll learn how this young woman moved from being part of a headline to being an inspiration," said Meade.
Brady wrote the foreword. "From the day she was shot to the day she met face to face with her shooter a decade later, Missy will take you on her incredible journey of sorrow, pain, joy and triumph," Brady said. "There's a lesson in here for everyone, young and old."
Just released by LangMarc Publishing, "I Choose to be Happy" explores the emotional details of Jenkins' life, including her perspective of the shooting, grueling physical and mental rehabilitation, daily struggles and triumphs of being a paraplegic, work today as a day treatment center counselor for troubled teens, marriage and the birth of her son in 2007.
It also includes a verbatim account of Carneal's interrogation just two hours after the shooting, excerpts from letters Carneal wrote to Jenkins from prison, details of her face-to-face meeting with him last year at the Kentucky State Reformatory and information about his appeal, which is currently under review by the Kentucky Supreme Court.
"I Choose to be Happy" is already being used in middle and high schools to teach lessons in empathy, love, determination, responsibility, kindness, courage, faith, forgiveness, the dangers of bullying and the importance of making good choices.
"I read it to my class and their jaws were dropped the entire time. You could have heard a pin drop," said Rebecca English, teacher at Calloway County (Ky.) Middle School. "Missy has impacted so many lives over the years, and she can impact so many more with this book. Everyone can benefit from it. I know my students and I have."
To interview Missy Jenkins or for more information on "I Choose to be Happy," email jenkinsbook@gmail.com, call William Croyle at 859-620-6916 or visit http://www.missyjenkins.com.
CONTACT:
William Croyle at jenkinsbook@gmail.com or 859-620-6916
website: http://www.missyjenkins.com
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