January 5, 2026 updated edited for blog publication on February 8, 2026
Dear Reader,
In 2023 after listening to the publisher on a podcast, I
decided to take a leap of faith and write my story, in book form. I had been
writing blogs and editorials for many years. My editorials and posts hit home
or at least hit nerves. My publisher believed my story was worth telling.
On April 20, 2024, my book was released. It is a combination
of narrative, sworn taped testimony, and observations. The date of April 20 is
significant. It had been 26 years since April 20, 1998, when the motivation to
speak and write had been documented in legal testimony in a closed-door
hearing.
My story is still timely and significant. Backed up by sworn
taped testimony, it is my story of trying to get help for a troubled child, and
the retaliation that followed.
I do not write as a victim, I write as a voice who spoke up
before any serious, irrevocable violence could happen in my class and school. I
write as a voice, who continued to address the issues that happen in our
nation’s schools, even when my own administration tried to silence my voice. I
write as a voice that overcame the fear of retaliation when others just wanted
to bury their heads in paychecks. I write as a voice of reason with practical
advice.
I write with a faith-based foundation, but my particular faith
is for me. No one should take my faith beliefs as an insult to theirs but
rather see it as a way I worked through the difficult times.
I write to encourage others to speak up. The Columbine
High School mass shooting happened on April 20, 1999, one year to the day after
I was called incompetent for seeking help for a young child. I write with
confidence and competency.
I write, present tense, because as long as I am able to
speak, I will be a voice against the violence.
I am asking you to read my book and to share it with others.
Sincerely,
Marian R. Carlino
Update: I am including this on my blog. I sent this note to various podcasters, lawyers and people with whom I have watched or interacted.
Today, someone posted on a Telegram channel about the extreme media coverage of a missing, and now possibly presumed dead, mother of an internationally famous news correspondent. The story is sad but brings international attention and coverage because of the daughter. The missing woman was not famous in her own right. The person on Telegram asked why the millions of stories of non-famous people are not covered at such depths. I responded that it is a disconnect and looking at inner responsibility. Even in our own neighborhoods and families, some stories are passed off as not important. I gave a few examples.
Well to God, all people are important. He actually knows it all. He knows the story of the unknown person.
I took comfort in that knowledge in 1998 since my story, although then drawing the attention of a local reporter, seemed not to matter to people outside of my classroom. Best friends, colleagues and family members took no notice of my story or tried to ignore it. But I knew my story was important then and still is now.
My book has not made the NY Times Best seller list. Is it because of my style of writing? I am reading a book by Dorothy Day. She had connections, but her style of writing is really not any different than mine, although she wrote from a socialist point of view and I do not. She also like protests a lot more than I do!
My story may be hard for some to read. It involves personal responsibility in our own families, school and neighborhoods. If we stay local, our efforts could have national impact. Jesus did not travel the world on the seven seas!
I encourage you to read my book. In a violent world, as we see daily, one will see that stories are important, you may not miss the piece of the puzzle next time a preventable event has its eyes set on your community.
The people in the small community north of Tucson, Arizona have been interviewed this week. They say they have never seen anything like this before. Surprisingly, I have not heard anyone say, "We never thought it could happen here."
Violence impacts us all, maybe that is why the missing person in Tucson, Arizona reminds us that none of us are immune. What else can we learn by the current media frenzy in the small community?
Marian R. Carlino
February 8, 2026