The toll of America’s gun violence epidemic is usually measured in lives lost—more than 35,000 each year. Ignored, almost completely, are the many more people who are shot every year, and survive. —Shot and Forgotten, The Trace “Nearly 40,000 people die from gun violence in the US every year. This uniquely American crisis leaves no community untouched—but it doesn’t have to be this way.” —Gabrielle Giffords The Forgotten Survivors of Gun Violence collects 20 personal essays of survivors’ visible and invisible wounds from school shootings, attempted suicide by firearm, mass shootings, gang violence, and domestic violence. Their stories remind us that these traumatic experiences are not exclusive to combat soldiers but, more notably, suffered by ordinary people during modern life. With this collection, editors Loren Kleinman, Shavaun Scott, Sandy Phillips and Lonnie Phillips expose the true lifecycle of a bullet and the trauma left in its wake. Through personal narratives and select personal photos, the wounded tell a story that’s forgotten when the cameras go away. This collection will be of interest to first responders, officers, therapists, medical practitioners, and educators.

"The result is an important and horrifyingly thick anthology of mass murders...Highly difficult to read in one sitting, but we must not look away." —Kirkus Reviews A harrowing collection of sixty narratives—covering over fifty years of shootings in America—written by those most directly affected by school shootings: the survivors. “If I Don’t Make It, I Love You,” a text sent from inside a war zone. A text meant for Stacy Crescitelli, whose 15-year-old daughter, Sarah, was hiding in a closet fearing for her life in Parkland, Florida, in February of 2018, while a gunman sprayed her school with bullets, killing her friends, teachers, and coaches. This scene has become too familiar. We see the images, the children with trauma on their faces leaving their school in ropes, connected to one another with hands on shoulders, shaking, crying, and screaming. We mourn the dead. We bury children. We demand change. But we are met with inaction. So, we move forward, sadder and more jaded. But what about those who cannot move on? These are their stories. If I Don’t Make It, I Love You collects more than sixty narratives from school shooting survivors, family members, and community leaders covering fifty years of shootings in America, from the 1966 UT-Austin Tower shooting through May 2018’s Santa Fe shooting. Through this collection, editors Amye Archer and Loren Kleinman offer a vital contribution to the surging national dialogue on gun reform by elevating the voices of those most directly affected by school shootings: the survivors.

Gun violence intentional, self-directed or accidental is a profoundly traumatic experience. From physical injuries to unseen psychological scars and permanent impairments, it irrevocably changes people's lives. Gun violence does not just the individual shot or threatened. Secondary victimisation also includes relatives, friends, colleagues, caregivers, and, perhaps controversially, perpetrators themselves. Gun Violence, Disability and Recovery provides the first overview of the rights and needs of survivors of gun violence. The collection contains contributions from gun violence survivors, trauma surgeons, disability rights activists, rehabilitation specialists, violence prevention and reduction experts, development practitioners, and gender justice advocates. From countries with low resource levels to those already equipped with state-of-the-art rehabilitation centres, this innovative publication provides policymakers, practitioners, government officials, and donors with timely analysis on what could be done differently to meet the needs and rights of survivors of gun violence. "This volume speaks to me both as a government official and as a survivor of gun violence. I know first-hand how painful the aftermath of such a life-changing event can be. But I also know it is possible to recover and make a positive difference in society. I hope this book will inspire other survivors to follow this path." Lenín Moreno Garcés, Vice President, Ecuador "Little attention has been paid to the fact that for every person killed by gun violence, as many as six victims will survive, often with severe disabilities. The long-term physical and psychological damage, social and economic impacts, can no longer be overlooked. Bringing together voices of survivors, as well as health, medical, rehabilitation and legal concerns, this book represents a significant step forward, outlining key issues for policy, practice and intervention. It is a must read for anyone concerned about human rights and violence and that should mean all of us." Nora Ellen Groce, Director, Leonard Cheshire Disability & Inclusive Development Centre, University College London, UK "Every year, hundreds of thousands of victims of gun violence, together with their families, experience the real costs of the availability and misuse of arms in our communities. For these victims to attain their basic human rights, so often denied them, we need a better understanding of their predicament, challenges and needs. Gun Violence, Disability and Recovery, with its comprehensive overview and analysis, will critically inform our efforts to develop and implement better policies and practices to enhance the realisation of the rights of survivors of armed violence, including implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty." Espen Barth Eide, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway "The reality of survivors of gun violence my reality is so often lost in narrow political and economic interests. This volume gives me hope that attention to life after gun violence will begin to receive long overdue attention, and contribute to the long haul effort of improving services for survivors as well as working towards accountability about the arms trade." Shelley Barry, filmmaker, South Africa "International development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, will not be achieved if the rights of people with disabilities are not met. Through a broad range of case studies and examples from low and middle income countries, this book shows us how States could do better. Let us hope that its message is heard. As a survivor of gun violence myself, I take a keen interest in any effort to effect gun control, particularly across Africa. This is the

How do ordinary people cope after a loved one is killed due to gun violence? It's a question that more than 30,000 families must face every year in America. In this gripping book, survivors, friends, and family members discuss their lives from the moment their worlds were turned upside down by guns. In their own words, they discuss the anguish, fear, confusion, and grief they were plunged into as a result of a pulled trigger. Along the way, author Heidi Yewman finds some common traits and some astonishing illustrations of how grief plays out for different people in tragically similar circumstances.

This edited volume highlights the work of ten forgotten and neglected social theorists in the hope of reinvigorating interest in their work and their potential contributions to the analysis of contemporary social issues. Each chapter includes a brief biographical sketch, an overview of the selected theorist’s work and significance, and the relevance of their work to one or more contemporary social issues. While other similar texts tend to focus primarily on intellectual biography, our emphasis here is on the scholar’s theories and their application to contemporary social issues. We provide a contextualization of each scholar’s work, using present-day social issues or problems. Many of these individuals played a significant role in the development of sociology. Our hope is to provide a resource that will help re-integrate these marginalized social theorists, rescuing them from obscurity and elevating their status.

The Shadow of Evil: Where is God in a Violent World is a "must read" for every person who is struggling to cope with adversity and loss: • Do you battle everyday with the realization that a senseless tragedy has altered the course of your life? • Do you feel overwhelmed by hardship and yet powerless to overcome your circumstances? • Have you ever felt abandoned by friends and family who cannot seem to understand what you are going through? • Has your faith in God suffered from the nagging doubt that even He has somehow forsaken you in your time of need? If you can answer "yes" to any of these questions, then you must read this book- the author has written it with you in mind! The Shadow of Evil chronicles the events surrounding the murder of the author's mother in 1991 by Wichita's BTK serial murderer. Jeff describes his own painful emotional and spiritual struggles in a brutally honest manner which takes the reader with him through his long journey of emotional recovery, from deepest despair to eventual hope. By sharing his experiences in such a candid manner, readers are able to relate their own sense of loss, emptiness, isolation, or anger, to the author's ordeals, allowing the reader to connect with his message on a cognitive, emotional and spiritual level. Those reading this work can come to understand that their own turbulent mix of emotions and questions of faith are normal, even to be expected. It is the author's hope that once readers have accompanied him on this journey to recovery, they too, will find a renewed sense of meaning in their lives and a brighter hope for the future.

Richard Wright analyzes the current state of violence in America, the criminal justice system’s response, and the experiences of survivors in the aftermath of a violent crime. Despite decades of advocacy, change, and research, our policy responses embedded with historic and systemic values which rank victims and survivors not based on their trauma and loss, but by race, social status, gender, location, and age, remain quite flawed. Keeping the big picture in mind, Wright analyzes the unintended consequences of current, well-meaning policies, critiques the victim hierarchy, and sheds light on why American responses to the needs of violent crime victims have accrued a more failures than successes.