Read it and weep
The first time I remember crying while reading a book was in 5th grade when we were assigned to read Where the Red Fern Grows. The way that some people were disturbed by watching “Old Yeller” as a child (which I still have never seen), I was traumatized by the story of Old Dan and Little Ann. Before that point, I think I realized that animals died, but not that they could die in such horrible, violent ways.
So maybe this is why I had to be on Zoloft in college: the fact that we were bombarded by heart-wrenching novels throughout middle and high school, though they really seemed to hit hardest during middle school with titles like:
A Day No Pigs Would Die: A boy’s father is a pig farmer and the boy learns the hard facts of life by seeing his pigs slaughtered. The day his father passes away is the days no pigs would die. I remember my friend Brenda literally crying a puddle on her desk as Ms. Tuch read aloud from this book.
Summer of My German Soldier: A teenage girl hides an escaped German POW in an apartment over the garage. She is Jewish and in a small town, she has no friends. Her parents are cruel and unloving towards her and the German soldier becomes her closest friend. Of course, things just go downhill from there.
The Summer of the Swans: I don’t remember much about this book except I think it introduced me to the word ‘puce.’ But it was sad, dammit!
Bridge to Terabithia: Two young friends, a boy and girl, create an imaginary kingdom in the forest. Of course, to reach it involves crossing a river. During a rainy day, one of the kids has an accident trying to get to Terabithia…
This is why we're all screwed up.
So maybe this is why I had to be on Zoloft in college: the fact that we were bombarded by heart-wrenching novels throughout middle and high school, though they really seemed to hit hardest during middle school with titles like:
A Day No Pigs Would Die: A boy’s father is a pig farmer and the boy learns the hard facts of life by seeing his pigs slaughtered. The day his father passes away is the days no pigs would die. I remember my friend Brenda literally crying a puddle on her desk as Ms. Tuch read aloud from this book.
Summer of My German Soldier: A teenage girl hides an escaped German POW in an apartment over the garage. She is Jewish and in a small town, she has no friends. Her parents are cruel and unloving towards her and the German soldier becomes her closest friend. Of course, things just go downhill from there.
The Summer of the Swans: I don’t remember much about this book except I think it introduced me to the word ‘puce.’ But it was sad, dammit!
Bridge to Terabithia: Two young friends, a boy and girl, create an imaginary kingdom in the forest. Of course, to reach it involves crossing a river. During a rainy day, one of the kids has an accident trying to get to Terabithia…
This is why we're all screwed up.