"Nineteen Minutes" is a novel I've just started reading by Jodi Picoult. This story shows how with an ordinary lapse of time - nineteen minutes - your life can be changed forever. And not just you. Hundreds, thousands or even millions of lives can change.
That is one frightening reality.
This book takes us through a school shooting and its aftermath. The story is gripping and, unfortunately, realistic.
In my own state, an hour or two from where I live, a young boy is currently on trial for killing his high school principal. The thing is this boy looks like a good kid.
I mean, someone you would never look at and think of as dangerous.
This is the reality that my children are growing up in.
I've wondered if it is the media continually seeking out stories that we will not be able to turn away from, like gawkers at a car accident.
But every day these shocking news stories become my reality. A reality that I must carefully navigate. Tiptoeing through the minefield of life, all the while hoping that I am choosing a safe path.
It is scary, and it is real, and it could all be over in just 19 minutes.
