As many of you know, I live in Kansas, so I’ve gotten a few emails asking my opinion on the situation with Jovan Belcher.
For those of you who did not see this in the news, Chief’s player, Jovan Belcher, committed murder-suicide against his girlfriend, leaving his 3-month-old daughter.
Read more about it here.
However, like the Amanda Todd case, I would rather not give my opinion as I did not know Belcher personally nor the troubles he and/or his loved ones are going through. Instead, I will bring to light the unfortunate topic of domestic abuse.
If you or a loved one is a victim of domestic abuse, this is the national helpline.
I like to teach with novels, however, because I am very passionate over the topic–obviously–and the most emotional rendering YA novel I have read in regards to abusive relationship is “Dreamland” by Sarah Dessen.
After her older sister abandons the family, Caitlin begins a dangerous relationship with Rogerson Biscoe. Severely disturbed, Caitlin fights for her love, his life, and discovers the truth through the eyes of her camera lens.
Read more about it here.
Again, please seek help if you are a victim or know one, but, in the mean time, inform yourself in order to possibly help another in the future.
~SAT
Shannon A. Thompson 
Shannon, I have actually been having a hard couple of days with all the discussion going on about the murder of Kassandra Perkins and the suicide of Jovan Belcher. In 2010, my step-father tried to kill my daughter and myself, and his intention was to kill himself afterwards. Thankfully, his attempt was unsuccessful. I was not seriously hurt, but my daughter was almost killed, and has sustained a spinal injury with chronic pain, partial paralysis (Brown-Sequard) and other long term issues. But, as you can imagine, the many cases of murder/suicide or parents killing or attempting to kill their children/grandchildren that have occurred in the last couple of years, cause us a great deal of emotional distress…especially since it has not been that long since it all happened. Well, I really just wanted to thank you for your post.
Hearing the story of Jovan Belcher and SjSchafer breaks my heart. No one should be subjected to any type of violence, but it’s so much more painfully to hear about it when it’s between family. I think it’s important for people to speak out about it, so that if people are going through this, they know that they’re not alone. I was always of Sarah Dessen books when I was a preteen because of how real her writing was. I have never read “Dreamland” but I would definitely check it out
You are welcome, and thank you for sharing your story with me. My goal is to spread awareness in the hopes of helping victims, and, of course, I am very sad your family had to suffer through such a traumatic experience, including the repercussions of the event.
I wish you the best, and, again, thank you for sharing your story.
~SAT
Shannon, thank you for stopping and following my blog. I look forward to following your blog as you advocate for an important cause and write passionately.
Take care,
Ivon
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