Letters to a Bullied Girl: Messages of Healing and Hope (Paperback)

by Olivia Gardner (Author), Emily Buder (Author), Sarah Buder (Author)
Key Phrases: Olivia's Letters Dear Olivia

Editorial Reviews

Review
"... At a time when traditional bullying has been compounded by the viral nature of the web, Letters to a Bullied Girl, strives to show that there’s a way to fight this abuse." -- Ann Pleshette Murphy, Good Morning America parenting contributor and author of The 7 Stages of Motherhood: Loving Your Life Without Losing Your Mind

"...This powerful book can help bolster a wounded sense of self, offer a community of support, and deflect the barbs of cruel sad cowards... Letters to a Bullied Girl is not just helpful and heartwarming--it’s potentially life-saving." -- Carol Weston, author of Girltalk: All the Stuff Your Sister Never Told You and The Diary of Melanie Martin and advice columnist at Girls' Life Magazine

"As I read Olivia’s story, I couldn’t help but wonder if these same letters could have helped my son Jared, who died by "bullycide." ... At some time in our lives, couldn’t we all use such letters to help us through our worst moments?" -- Brenda High, Founder, Co-Director, Bully Police USA; author of Bullycide in America

"Emily and Sarah Buder are powerful examples of what an incredible impact you can make by speaking up...This book is an inspiration and a powerful call to action..." -- Suzanne Shulman, Program Director Leave Out Violence (LOVE)

"Letters to a Bullied Girl is a must read for all young people. Instead of analyzing or proselytizing, it takes us right into the heart of the matter..." -- Madeline Levine, Ph.D., author of The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids

"This book shows how one girl’s life was transformed through the moral courage of others...For all the parents who ask me what they can do to help their child, this book will comfort and inspire." -- Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence

Review
"...This powerful book can help bolster a wounded sense of self, offer a community of support, and deflect the barbs of cruel sad cowards... Letters to a Bullied Girl is not just helpful and heartwarming--it's potentially life-saving." (Carol Weston, author of Girltalk: All the Stuff Your Sister Never Told You and The Diary of Melanie Martin and advice columnist at Girls' Life Magazine )

"This book shows how one girl's life was transformed through the moral courage of others...For all the parents who ask me what they can do to help their child, this book will comfort and inspire." (Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence )

"As I read Olivia's story, I couldn't help but wonder if these same letters could have helped my son Jared, who died by "bullycide." ... At some time in our lives, couldn't we all use such letters to help us through our worst moments?" (Brenda High, Founder, Co-Director, Bully Police USA; author of Bullycide in America )

LETTERS could (and should) be a wake-up call to school administrators and parents.that is, those who are blissfully unaware that the problem isn't going away ... It's also an excellent resource for teens, both for those who are being bullied and for those who are standing by watching it happen. (Reviewed by Alexis Burling , Teenreads.com )

"Emily and Sarah Buder are powerful examples of what an incredible impact you can make by speaking up...This book is an inspiration and a powerful call to action..." (Suzanne Shulman, Program Director Leave Out Violence (LOVE) )

"Letters to a Bullied Girl is a must read for all young people. Instead of analyzing or proselytizing, it takes us right into the heart of the matter..." (Madeline Levine, Ph.D., author of The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids )

"... At a time when traditional bullying has been compounded by the viral nature of the web, Letters to a Bullied Girl, strives to show that there's a way to fight this abuse." (Ann Pleshette Murphy, Good Morning America parenting contributor and author of The 7 Stages of Motherhood: Loving Your Life Without Losing Your Mind )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (August 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061544620
• ISBN-13: 978-0061544620
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #210,165 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful book to digest and (hopefully) a wake-up call to school administrators and parents, August 6, 2008

By	Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

You may have read the news story in May 2007 about Olivia Gardner, the 14-year-old epileptic girl from Novato, California, who was bullied mercilessly for over two years in three separate schools. You also may have heard about two sisters from Mill Valley, Emily (17) and Sarah (14), who started a campaign to solicit letters of support for buder from teens and others who had experienced similar traumas. But what you may not know is that what began as a local, small-town project has blossomed into a worldwide phenomenon that has sparked websites, other letter-writing campaigns, and a book (this one) called LETTERS TO A BULLIED GIRL.

With more than 150 letters and copies of emails from those who have been bullied as well as those who have participated in bullying, LETTERS is a powerful book to digest --- or try to, at least. Although par for the course given the subject matter, it's still distressing to read through a full range of firsthand accounts of verbal and physical abuse inflicted on the undeserving. From a girl who had been made fun of because of her facial acne to a boy who had been singled out and repeatedly beaten up by his peers in the lunch yard, the notes paint a depressing but, nonetheless, starkly realistic portrait of what actually goes down on middle school and high school campuses.

Perhaps what's even more bothersome is to read through the letters from adults who were the ones responsible for the taunting, the jeering, the exclusionary behavior, back in their day. The common response, "To this day, I don't know why I did it," although heartfelt, is no excuse, and gives us readers pause to ask the question: Could this be the same sort of behavior that we see around office water coolers, in PTA meetings, or neighborhood country clubs? Yes, bullying is horrendous when it's directed at young adults, but do we ever really grow out of it? Or is it just human nature?

Still, despite that nagging elephant in the room, the overall point and message of the book is a positive one --- that it is possible to make a difference in someone's life just by reaching out a hand. Emily and Sarah Buder saw a fellow teen in need and for no other reason than a compassionate urge to show a stranger that she wasn't alone in her suffering and that there was, in fact, the possibility that things would --- eventually --- improve, they changed a girl's life for the better.

LETTERS could (and should) be a wake-up call to school administrators and parents...that is, those who are blissfully unaware that the problem isn't going away --- especially now that teens are using social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to take bullying to a whole new level. There are signs --- and as responsible adults, they need to be aware of them. It's also an excellent resource for teens, both for those who are being bullied and for those who are standing by watching it happen. Any bit of information on the subject helps, even if it's slightly redundant. But isn't that the point?

The bottom line is that adolescence should (could?) be a time of joy and learning, not of fierce insecurity and intense suffering. Plus the fact that most nasty, deplorable behavior is learned early on --- but can be prevented if it's caught in time. Any material that helps facilitate that goal is well worth a read.

--- Reviewed by Alexis Burling

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars re: letters to a bullied girl, August 5, 2008

By	H. Zweig "booker" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an extremely sensitive and thoughtful book. It's so good to see the outpourings of encouragement to this poor, bullied girl. This book should be assigned reading in elementary through high school- maybe children would be less cruel to each other if they realized how hurtful it was. It's shocking to read the responses that come from people who were bullied as children and are still feeling the effects years down the road.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Letters to a Bullied Girl, September 2, 2008

By	Robert P. Schulman - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been aware of this all-to-common type of oppression by certain persons against others since I was a youngster at school. I stopped my oppressor by fist-fighting him, and as with all bullies, he never bothered me afterward. - - This book is so fascinating, just to read the letters of people from everywhare and from all walks of life recount their experiences and read their spiritual support. - - Also, the proactive two sisters, Emily and Sarah Buder, who started this whole rescue operation public deserve recognition, if not a medal of some kind.