About the Book

Gunstories is about kids’ life-changing experiences with guns. Guns can have a subtle, poignant, extreme, devastating or meaningful affect on a child or teenager’s life. The interviews and photos in this book help reveal why and how guns make these impressions. I wanted to give young people an opportunity to express what they believe, understand and know about guns and how they have impacted their lives.  I also wanted young readers to hear from and see their peers. The voices  in Gunstories are all different in some way. But each of the young people has had some experience with guns that has changed them; some are very painful and upsetting and others are positive and informative.
 
This book was not written with a political agenda in mind.  The young people in this book might be considered pro-gun or anti- gun. Some may not identify with these labels but others do consider themselves to be strongly in favor of gun use and ownership while others are opposed to their use and want stricter gun control. These opinions come from their direct experiences with guns. 

All the young people I have met over the course of this project have taught me to remain open to their observations and feelings concerning the impact of guns on their lives. My hope is that kids and adults will identify with some of these words and images and that they will begin to see the influence of guns  in a new way.  The issue of guns is ever changing and belongs to our youth often more than adults. Hearing from and seeing from these children and teenagers who have such varied and meaningful experiences, is powerful and can provide a positive path toward reconciling the place of guns in our lives.
 

Read more about Gunstories or buy it at HarperCollins  

Download a flyer with info on the book. Note: To download the flyer (or read the foreword below) you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you don't have Acrobat click here  or on the graphic below for this free software.

Read the Foreword to GUNSTORIES by David M. Kennedy, Director, Center for Crime Prevention and Control, John Jay College