Anna argues with her mom about a school science award. Ben discovers in his seventh decade that he is Jewish. Chester searches for his little sister in a snowstorm. Dixie is pregnant with her second child.
Inspired by the ongoing wave of school shootings in this country, “Shot” by Jude Berman collects 26 fictional short stories of gun violence, each featuring a different person from a different place in the U.S.
In this Five by Five article, Jude talks about the different characters in the collection, how the stories came to her, and the message for the readers.
What inspired this book?
“Shot” was inspired by yet another school shooting. I saw it on the news. I read about it. I wept about it. I was angry about it. Like everyone else, I said “not again.” I also wondered how it is that we don’t know better, that we can’t figure out how to stop this from happening. “Thoughts and prayers” clearly don’t make a difference. So I was inspired to use the power of storytelling as one small way to make a difference.
How did you go about creating the different challenges that each character faces?
“Shot” is a collection of 26 fictional short stories; any resemblance to real-life people is a coincidence. Yet I don’t feel like I created these characters. Rather, they came to me. When I was taking a walk, or just at some random moment during the day, I would feel them sitting on my shoulder, whispering, “Tell my story.” Each story is unique. The specific challenges each one faces are unique as well. So all I did was listen, and then I told the stories.
Is there something that ties these stories together?
All of the stories are tied together by the theme of gun violence. In one way or another, each character faces an incident of gun violence. For most, it comes at a completely unexpected moment. That moment is different in each story, yet the stories are united by the universality of the experience.
Why the decision to organize this in the ABC format?
The first character who came to me told me her name was Anna. The next one was Ben. Then it occurred to me there were stories for every letter of the alphabet, and that that was a good way to illustrate the diversity of people who encounter gun violence. However, it’s not the only way. The 26 characters are all from different US states. They range in age from four to eighty and are diverse with respect to gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, profession, and more.
What do you hope readers take from these stories?
Very simple: death by gun violence can happen to anyone. It can happen to your loved ones. It can happen to you. At any moment. Most likely, you won’t see it coming. So, understanding that, what do you want to do about it?
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