I started this book over a year ago and have worked tirelessly on this. I finished the trailer just as the news of Zahra's disappearance was all over the television. Her precious face refreshed my reasons I began this project and it has renewed my frustration that we continue to battle this war that has been waged against our children. I pray that everyone who feels the same as I on this matter will band together to help put an end to these atrocities. We need to push for stiffer penalties when someone takes one of our angels. What is the answer? Death Sentence for someone on the first offense? Three strikes, you're out? All I know is that it is we the people who make the difference and from what I can see there are plenty good people out there that want our children protected, so why is it that so many monsters are able to do this over and over again?
Citizen Out
You know, Marie, that as we were shooting the trailer for the book, I was getting choked up just watching the marvelous performance in front of the camera... and when we did the shoot of the girl by the creek, I was nearly shaking and had to stop numerous times to get control. It's such a powerful and disturbing image to behold, even when you know the actors are just doing their job, but when I heard about this little girl, Zahra Baker, that had been missing and found dead, it hit me hard. How incredibly this parallels the story in our trailer, and how awful the situation.
ReplyDeleteFor the readers, I have no children of my own, having not been that fortunate, but my sister and brother both have children, and another sister a step-child, and I have had relationships with women that have had children and I played, for lack of a better term, the father role for 4 years. I feel I have a loose grasp on what it means to be a parent from my own experiences, and it hurts my heart to hear that such a beautiful young girl, innocent in her smile and in her soul, could be the victim of such a tragedy.
I, myself, have never been the victim of abuse, and I'm grateful for that, but as a teenager I learned about abuse through a girlfriend whose step-father, that soulless bastard, abused her. I sought out a counselor's help, in the hopes that she would step forward and accuse him publicly, but she wouldn't. Hopefully he is now rotting in whatever hell he has made for himself, and hopefully she is well, but it has always sickened me that things like this could happen to our children, and it makes me beyond sad.
I hope this book will bring awareness to a disturbing problem that faces our nation and its children.
Marie, this is a beautiful and powerful thing you are doing. Thank you for your continued efforts to preserve the innocence of our children.
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