Nine teens share their experiences with violence.
The explosive teenage years can make young people more prone to violence...and more vulnerable. The accounts in I Wrote on all Four Walls are authentic and riveting. Sixteen-year-old Janice finds herself the target of cyber-bullying and physical intimidation at school. Allan remembers coming out at age fourteen and learning that safety can be as much about who you know as who you are. Don at age eight terrorized his younger brother, an aggression that escalated into the torture of another boy at fifteen.
I Wrote on all Four Walls collects the harrowing stories of nine contemporary teenagers who have witnessed, been the victim of, or instigated acts of violence... sometimes all three. In their own words, these teens offer thoughtful testimony on how such experiences have impacted on their lives, and their choices in dealing with those repercussions. Each experience is as unique and complex as the teens themselves. But one common element is clear: violence builds walls, and these teens want to speak up and break out.
I Wrote on all Four Walls also includes an afterword by youth services specialist Dr. Fred Matthews, an internationally respected authority on teen violence. Dr. Matthews, a community psychologist and Director of Research and Program Development at Central Toronto Youth Services, explores how both victims and perpetrators can come to terms with violent events and gain control of their lives.