A Mother's Reckoning

Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy

By: Sue Klebold

Narrated by: Andrew Solomon, Sue Klebold

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Over the course of minutes, they would kill 12 students and a teacher and wound 24 others before taking their own lives.

For the last 16 years, Sue Klebold, Dylan's mother, has lived with the indescribable grief and shame of that day. How could her child, the promising young man she had loved and raised, be responsible for such horror? And how, as his mother, had she not known something was wrong? Were there subtle signs she had missed? What, if anything, could she have done differently?

These are questions that Klebold has grappled with every day since the Columbine tragedy. In A Mother's Reckoning, she chronicles with unflinching honesty her journey as a mother trying to come to terms with the incomprehensible. In the hope that the insights and understanding she has gained may help other families recognize when a child is in distress, she tells her story in full, drawing upon her personal journals, the videos and writings that Dylan left behind, and countless interviews with mental health experts.

Filled with hard-won wisdom and compassion, A Mother's Reckoning is a powerful and haunting book that sheds light on one of the most pressing issues of our time. And with fresh wounds from the recent Newtown and Charleston shootings, never has the need for understanding been more urgent.

Includes a PDF of acknowledgments and resources from the book.

All author profits from the book will be donated to research and to charitable organizations focusing on mental health issues.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2016 Sue Klebold (P)2016 Random House Audio

Courageous. Real. Laced with love.

This is a must read! I found myself speechless and emotionless yet filled with sorrow. Sue Klebold is brave, selfless and honest in her writing.

A great read for all parents.

I so appreciate Ms. Klebold's willingness to share her own family's painful journey toward helping others to gain a better understanding of issues to watch for with teenagers and ways of dealing with family members with brain illnesses and emotional difficulties.

A must read!

If you are a parent, listen to Sue Klebold. She has wisdom you need. Her tragically won insights can save your child.

Tragic story, heartbreaking voice.

The writing is excellent. Her honesty and sorrow are real. What breaks through slowly as the narrative develops is how little she knew her son, at least his illness and isolation, how she was, as she often cited, blind to his misery. Because she concedes to this and we see the events unfold it is even more upsetting and terribly tragic for her, a debilitating self-awareness she has to endure every day. Too many negative elements fell into place in the story of Columbine, sort of like a perfect storm. I admire her for giving us access to their world and I'm glad she is involving herself in trying to do right in suicide and mental health awareness.

I read the book via Audible and that had a unique almost confessional effect. I would recommend Audible over text or both because her voice is sorrowful and raw without being sentimental or overly emotional. She is as solid a reader as she is a writer.

I can't imagine and I refuse to judge.

I can't begin to imagine the pain the victims, their families and friends, the school, the town, the state or Dyland's family experienced and will always live with. There is so much in this story I never knew and obviously much I will never know. The one thing I am confident of is that every moment of every day is filled with a chance to make choices as a parent. Sometimes, our best intentions aren't enough and sometimes we react too quickly. Regardless, I believe most do the best they can with the knowledge they have. Those who judge should challenge themselves to chanel that energy into actively working to become part of the solution. When you judge others for their action or inaction, you are also inappropriately excusing yourself from any responsibility. The choice to avoid eye contact, write off the teenager who is often in the principal's office as well as condoning your own child's bullying behavior; makes you part of the problem. Yet, it's easy for others to judge the Klebold's because the crime was so horrific. Those who judge don't want to recognize their role in encouraging violence because of their own everyday choices. Too many who live in glass houses and are willing to throw the first stone.

excellent, touching, truly a lesson on empathy

If you could sum up A Mother's Reckoning in three words, what would they be?

the cyclone of emotions that a mother faced after her son's more than tragic death by suicide and participation in a mass shooting; a very lucid lesson on self-assessment, forgiveness, motherhood/parenthood.

Compelling and thought provoking ...

The unthinkable becomes a reality for one mother and, ultimately, society. This story details the very human side of one of the Columbine School shooters from the perspective of his loving, unsuspecting mother (parents). A story of life and death, good vs evil. Read by the author, it's filled with heartbreaking honesty and her hope for changes that would assure such tragedies never occur again.

A gripping story. I think this book could help many.

Whether you or a loved one suffer from a brain disorder pay close attention to what Sue says and all of the triggers she missed. They may help you or a loved one. I know they have helped me understand brain disorders like never before, without a stigma attached to it. On another note, Never ever have I cried throughout a book the way I did with this one. In a way it was cathartic as I found myself with many of the personality traits associated with Dylan, in myself. No, I'd never take someone's life but up until a few months ago I did want to end mine. I think through reading her words about Dylan and herself she brought back some of my feelings of being a human that deserves to love himself and be loved that I felt I didn't deserve to feel; if that makes any sense. Thank you Sue.

Eye opening

Ms. Klebold is honest and reflective in her journey to understand the actions that took place at Columbine High School in 1999. Her truthful look into the life of her son gives readers the opportunity to form their own opinion about Columbine through the lens of mental health.

Very informative

Sue brings out many important issues that affect life in all of us. I think she does a very good job in analyzing the many dynamics that were a part of this tragedy and I believe that everyone who reads this book will learn something to make each one of us a better individual. No one can truly know what any individual feels or thinks- professionals, parents or friends. I applaud her for sharing so everyone can learn and better understand those around us and our own feelings.