Written by Linnet Brown, ‘The Power of Words: My Name is Sally’ is one of the many books Linnet has written in her journey to end bullying and stop the rash of suicides that have swept over many countries, more so in North America in recent years.
Brampton, ON -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/04/2014 -- In her years as a teacher and a social worker, Linnet Sailman saw first-hand how bullying destroyed the lives of young people and their families. Since her retirement, Sailman has made it her mission to use her time in the fight against bullying and so using ‘words’ not ‘fists’.
In her new book, ‘The Power of Words: My Name is Sally’, Sailman shows the power of using language effectively, rather than resorting to abusive tactics – whether physical or verbal. In main character Sally, children will see how bullying not only affects her peers, but also how being a bully turned Sally into a sad and scared little girl. Presenting both sides of the story, the book will be a vital tool for educators, parents and guidance counselors in teaching children why bullying is wrong, and showing bullies how their behavior negatively affects their lives.
“Bullying is definitely a topic on everyone’s mind,” says Sailman, who was also bullied as a child. “Social media has gone a long way toward enabling bullies to be anonymous or abusing more people on a wider scale. It has to stop. I’ve seen too many children who have thought they had no other choice but to take their own lives to end their misery, and it just breaks my heart. We need to do more as adults to counteract this behavior and present a zero-tolerance attitude to bullying.”
Ten-year-old Sally accepted the name-calling because she always got in trouble for fist fighting.
During that school year, she became a sad little girl who was not doing well in her education. So the following school year when Sally moved to another class, the teacher gave her words to fight with instead of fists. The words given to Sally allowed her to rise higher than was expected. Sally tells her story to help other children who might be undergoing bullying. And also, it is a strong message to children who are bullying others.
“’The Power of Words' is only one of the books that I have already published to help the 4-12 age group to learn to deal with bullying and to tell their parents or teachers about their experiences,” says the author. “The negative words constantly being used to a child by their peers and adults are like hanging the individual over a cliff and threatening to let go. Some parents who intend for their children to do well, use negative words to them as encouragement – but this method is dangerous, as it only leads to low self-esteem.”
Continuing: “Every day we hear of another case where a child committed suicide as the result of cyber and other forms of bullying. With this book, we can tell children that bullying destroys lives, and it needs to stop. Now.”
‘The Power of Words: My Name is Sally Book One’ is available now: http://amzn.to/1fMVxpU XlibrisPress, Barnesandnoble, Chapters.ca and bookstores near you. Books are available in eBook.
Linnet enjoys working with children. Over the years she has worked with children in different professional settings, which were; Teacher, Day Nursery Manager and Qualified Social Worker. Linnet also fostered young people for over ten years. Linnet is a Christian and uses stories to teach moral values to children and empowering them to reach their full potentials. Over the years Linnet continues to be involved in charity work for children. She is currently offering financial support to children in Africa and the Caribbean towards their education. Linnet has written other storybooks for children and teenagers.