This Is How It Happened
Page 28
“What is it?” I ask.
“Look.” He hands me the binoculars and points off into the distance, at the top of the next cliff.
“Holy crap,” I breathe. A mountain lion is moving along the edge of the summit. “That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Elliott laughs lightly. He strokes the side of my face, where beneath my makeup a scar from the accident still lingers. “It’s definitely in my top five.”
I am enthralled by the cat, by the way its thick tail hovers just below the ground, by the powerful and purposeful feel of each of its strides. “Should we make a lot of noise to protect ourselves?” My lips curl into a grin. “A wise man once told me that was the proper protocol.”
Elliott wraps an arm around me. “I think we’re safe.”
I smile as I lean into his body, but the truth is, I don’t know if I’ll ever feel safe again. Our “protective bubbles”—our houses, our cars, our friends, our online identities—might make us feel secure, but most of it’s just an illusion. It’s easy to get hurt, just like it’s easy to hurt other people. That’s part of why I’m doing these presentations. At first it was about penance—I thought they might take away some of the guilt. Now I’m hoping my story can help protect people by keeping others from making the same mistakes I did.
It’s a daunting task and part of me worries the whole next year will end up being a disaster—that I’ll be booed off stage, or no one will listen to me and nothing will change. It’s probably impossible to make a real difference.
But I know a lot of people who have accomplished some pretty incredible things—my mom raising me mostly on her own while maintaining a research lab and busy surgical practice, Elliott’s dad making it to the third stage of the American Ninja Warrior finals, Dallas turning a hobby into a major recording contract.
With practice and dedication and hope, other people have redefined what’s possible. If they can do it, maybe I can too. It won’t be easy and there are no guarantees, but I’m going to try anyway.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, a huge thank-you to my readers, for choosing this book from among countless others, and for being willing to genre hop with me as I write twisty mysteries, fluffy romances, and more serious contemporary novels. I hope to keep surprising you for many years to come.
Thank you to my friends and family, both immediate and extended, many of whom do not even know about this novel yet because I wrote it so quickly. I am so lucky to have you in my corner. Thank you for pep talks, music recommendations, boxes of edible things, and endless panda pictures.
My gratitude goes out to the amazing industry professionals I am fortunate enough to work with. Thanks to Jennifer Laughran, for both general and agent-related awesomeness, and for finding the time to read this manuscript quickly when I was really struggling; Karen Chaplin, for your always excellent editorial suggestions, and for knowing when to guide me and when to let me find my way; Olivia Swomley, for your stealth editorial contributions, and for heading up the GATU book-signing all-star team; Rosemary Brosnan, for supporting my work, letting me switch book ideas at the last minute, and for being the nicest person I’ve ever met in a public bathroom; and to my copy editors and proofreaders, for being so thorough and informative and kind. It might not always seem like it, but I swear I learn from your copious corrections. Thanks also to everyone else at HarperTeen who had a part in producing and/or supporting this story. I am so lucky to be part of your team!
Thanks to my beta-readers and experts: Lynn Doiron; Philip Siegel; Cathy Castelli; Marcy Beller Paul; Hannah Taylor; María Pilar Albárran Ruiz; Christina Ahn Hickey, MD; and Ranger Larry Walter. As always, thanks to the Apocalypsies, the YA Valentines, and all the super-awesome book bloggers who manage to balance being supportive with keeping it real. I love you guys.
For all the American Ninja Warrior contestants: whether you fall off the first obstacle or hit all the buzzers, please know that you are inspirations to countless people. Whenever I think something is impossible, I watch ANW and remember just how powerful hard work and tenacity can be.
Last but not least, thank you to the targets of online shaming. I have read many of your stories, and I admire the grace and courage you summoned in the face of adversity. You, too, are my inspirations.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This book is the intersection of two things I love (American Ninja Warrior and Zion National Park) and two causes I feel strongly about (online shaming and drowsy driving). Here are two major questions I contemplated while writing This Is How It Happened:
1. Is the prevalence of online shaming contributing to an internet culture where moderate voices are unwelcome and honest people who want to confess or come forward remain silent due to fear of excessive retribution?
2. Is drowsy driving as dangerous as drinking and driving? And if so, why is it so much easier for people to drive tired than to drive drunk?
My interest in online shaming dates back to 2005 when I was teaching English in South Korea. While I was there, a college student gained online notoriety after her dog defecated on a subway train and she refused to clean it up. An outraged passenger with a camera phone snapped pictures of the girl and posted them online. Within days, the girl’s name, address, and current university were made public by “netizens” seeking justice. The girl and several family members were mocked and harassed, the university’s server crashed from people posting angry messages, and the girl responded online to apologize for her actions and say the backlash had driven her to the point of contemplating suicide. She ended up dropping out of college and moving away from Seoul to escape the public scorn. Some of the people I was teaching English with thought this story was hilarious, total poetic justice. But I couldn’t help wondering, did the punishment really fit the crime?
I researched and reviewed more than thirty instances of online shaming while writing this novel. Some of the targets had done something embarrassing, some had engaged in activities people found offensive, and others had been accused of crimes. Almost all of the targets I read about struggled with feelings of isolation, despair, and hopelessness during and after their shamings. Many said they contemplated suicide. I know there are some people who will say whatever they want whenever they want to say it regardless of the consequences, and that’s their right. But I also know there are people who might rethink a comment or tweet if they knew it would push a struggling person closer to the edge, or cause harm to innocent bystanders. I don’t believe in censorship but I do believe that when we say something online we are publishing ourselves and we need to own our words—not just in that moment but forever, because once it’s on the internet it might never go away.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that drowsy driving was responsible for 72,000 crashes in 2013. In a study done by the National Sleep Foundation, 37% of the people polled admitted they had fallen asleep while driving at least once. Within my own family, there have been multiple fatigue-related car accidents, and I remember doing road trips in college where I drove to the point of hallucinating before I felt the need to pull over and get some rest.
Maybe it is our “it won’t happen to me” mentality or our incorrect belief that we can control our bodies that makes people so willing to drive while fatigued, but there’s no way to predict exactly when sleep will overtake us. And even if a driver doesn’t fall asleep, excessive fatigue slows reaction times, reduces the ability to focus, and impairs the ability to make good decisions. The TV show Mythbusters tested the idea that sleep-deprived drivers are as impaired as drunk drivers and not only confirmed it as true, but found in some cases that the sleep-deprived drivers performed worse than those driving under the influence of alcohol.
Drowsy driving often doesn’t receive the same attention and publicity as drinking and driving or texting and driving, but it’s still a serious issue with potentially lethal consequences, especially for seniors, night-shift workers, and younger driver
s. According to the NHTSA, teen drivers who sleep less than eight hours nightly are one-third more likely to crash than those who sleep eight or more hours nightly. If you are planning to drive a long distance, consider planning out ahead of time places where you can stop and rest. If you become fatigued while driving, switch drivers if possible, or look for a safe place to pull over for a short nap. If that’s not feasible, call a parent, friend, or transportation service. It might seem like a hassle or an expense you don’t want to deal with, but it also might be the thing that saves your life.
Speaking of saving lives, the Twitter address for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention listed in this book is real. You can follow them at @afspnational or reach them at 1-800-273-8255 if you or someone you know needs help.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo by Tara Kelly
PAULA STOKES is the author of Girl Against the Universe, The Art of Lainey, and Liars, Inc. In addition to writing, she enjoys kayaking, hiking, and seeking out new adventures in faraway lands. Paula lives in Portland, Oregon. You can find her online at www.authorpaulastokes.com or on Twitter and Instagram @pstokesbooks.
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BOOKS BY PAULA STOKES
The Art of Lainey
Infinite Repeat (A Digital Novella)
Liars, Inc.
Girl Against the Universe
This Is How It Happened
CREDITS
COVER ART AVATAR © 2017 PLAINPICTURE/FSTOP/VLADIMIR GODNIK
GIRL © 2017 IMAGE BRIEF USA, INC. | CLOUDS © 2017 SHUTTERSTOCK
COVER DESIGN BY SARAH NICHOLE KAUFMAN
COPYRIGHT
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED. Copyright © 2017 by Paula Stokes. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2016040465
ISBN 978-0-06-237993-1 (trade bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-06-268852-1 (special edition)
EPub Edition © June 2017 ISBN 9780062379955
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FIRST EDITION
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