Author's Note

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This book is a work of fiction. Some things in it are true, like the shocking reality of youth suicide due to bullying. Like Elodie, young men and women have gone through the same ordeal.

Bullying affects one in four students. Every fifteen minutes, a child is bullied. Imagine your son, daughter, niece or nephew suffering in silence. But not every bullied child keeps it a secret, about 20% to 30% speak up.

There are four types of bullying: physical (such as hitting, kicking, punching, or breaking someone's personal belongings) verbal (such as name-calling, teasing, putting someone down consistently) social (lying, spreading rumours, playing mean tricks, leaving someone out on purpose) and cyberbullying (using technology to hurt someone by sending hurtful messages, pictures or comments). These are all wrong and if anything like this is happening to you, speak up.

Elodie's story is based on that of Dolly Everett. Dolly was fourteen when she took her own life after months of relentless bullying. I was so moved by Dolly's story that I decided to do my own spin on it, and A Song for Elodie was born. You can find out more about Dolly through this link: https://www.mamamia.com.au/dolly-everett-akubra-suicide/ 

(link may not work for certain regions)

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