With the publication of my novel Shattered, I am worried how my writing may come off in this current culture. Which I support cancel culture. Not all men, or even most men are terrible to women.  But some are.  They should be called out and get whatever they have coming for them.

My character Mikey has some reasons for doing bad things. He justifies them as we all do (I believe). My hope is that my readers do not give up on him and see that he is a good person. 

Am I making excuses for such behaviors? No.  It is just how the story unfolds. Everyone has a dark side and I wanted to explore what a person might do if they became totally hopeless.

However, I do hope that it does contribute to a conversation about how to keep women safe.  It’s like that meme, don’t teach girls how to defend themselves, teach men to keep their hands to their selves.  How do we do that?

By teaching young boys have to develop intrapersonal skills.  Teach them how to be emotionally healthy. Teach them healthy habits.

I am talking about meditation, taking time for gratitude, and mindfulness. I am talking about determining their values and following them.

Let’s hold men accountable. By setting up equitable environments in the workforce. By enforcing laws and punishing men that cause trauma But I don’t think that will solve the problem. Instead we need to get beyond describing men as terrible and focus on their emotional intelligences. Let’s try to teach them to be emotionally healthy when they are boys.