To my students, thank you for allowing me to see the world through your first-grade eyes, where everything is new and exciting. I’ve learned more from each of you than I could ever put into words. Know that you can make all the difference in our world.
To Robin Gaby Fisher, I could have never written this book without you! We make a great team. But you are more than a coauthor, you are now my friend and for that I am very grateful.
To Hannah Brown Gordon, of Foundry Literary & Media, thank you for believing in me and my story and helping me to tell it and share it with others.
To Kerri Kolen and the team at Putnam, I couldn’t have asked for a better group to be a part of. You understood the vision for this book from Day One. Thank you for choosing me, so that we can help others to choose hope.
And to the twenty-six angels, there is not a moment or a day that I don’t remember you. Your names are the only names that should be remembered:
Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden, 7
Rachel Davino, 29
Olivia Rose Engel, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Ana Grace Marquez-Greene, 6
Dylan Hockley, 6
Dawn Hochsprung, 47
Madeleine F. Hsu, 6
Catherine V. Hubbard, 6
Chase Kowalski, 7
Jesse Lewis, 6
James Mattioli, 6
Grace McDonnell, 7
Anne Marie Murphy, 52
Emilie Parker, 6
Jack Pinto, 6
Noah Pozner, 6
Caroline Previdi, 6
Jessica Rekos, 6
Avielle Richman, 6
Lauren Rousseau, 30
Mary Sherlach, 56
Victoria Soto, 27
Benjamin Wheeler, 6
Allison N. Wyatt, 6
ABOUT CLASSES 4 CLASSES
Classes 4 Classes, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to connect classrooms to care and to teach every child in our nation that our lives are not separate but rather completely connected, and that everyone has the power to take action and create positive change. The platform provided by our website actively engages students in learning a social curriculum, not by talking about kindness and empathy but by living it. This encourages the development of their emotional intellect, which is key to forming healthy relationships. Students in one K–8 class give a gift that fulfills a need or educational objective to another K–8 class, anywhere in the country. The receiving classroom is able to accept their gift only after they’ve selected yet another classroom to give to, thus teaching children to “Pay It 4ward.” The author will donate a portion of her proceeds from Choosing Hope to her charitable organization Classes 4 Classes. Connect today at www.classes4classes.org.
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Choosing Hope: Moving Forward from Life's Darkest Hours Page 16