Book Review - I Asked, God Answered by Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor was shot during the Columbine massacre. This book caught my attention recently, and I was able to request it from my library. I was surprised how small the book is, slightly larger than my hand, just under 60 pages. The publisher claims this book is about forgiveness. One page mentions forgiveness, but the rest of the book focuses on Mark's injuries from the Columbine High School shootings. There was a brief five paged chapter about things Mark believes public schools should do differently. I found his list to be naive.

This is not a memorable book. If you want to read about Columbine, there are other options; additionally, while this book contained some poignant and relevant Bible verses, his testimony wasn't personal or moving, especially given the circumstances. I would have liked to read about Mark's personal recovery, his life now, what's happened in the years after the shooting, or even his life before. According to the book blurb, he now lives in Colorado Springs.

BUT. This book did make me think back to April 20, 1999. We lived 5 miles away from Columbine. Although Columbine isn't really "in" Littleton, the whole area has a small town feel. I knew several people who'd graduated from Columbine many years earlier; I'd worked with the parents of a few of the injured victims, and I later worked with an aunt of a girl who was killed. I knew the neighborhoods well, I'd been to the adjacent Clement Park, and I had even been in the high school library. I was working downtown that day, eating lunch with a friend when we caught the news. For the rest of the afternoon, everyone in our office kept glued to their computers and tvs, keeping up with the story.

I can't tell you what it's like to have something so tragic, so widespread, happen so close. It was similar to the feeling of 9/11--obviously on a different scale, but Columbine was so close, right there, our community. The next couple of weeks were surreal. Driving around, shopping, anywhere in public--everyone was somber. You didn't know who was affected personally. You didn't wish strangers to "have a good day."


The neighborhoods near the school had banners strung across their streets offering support and prayers. Public memorials were everywhere. Shortly after the shootings, I had an eye dr. appointment at an office right down the street from the high school. They had a marvelous view--of the school. I felt suffocated. As I left my appointment and headed home, I passed a full parking lot and realized I was it was the funeral service for Isaiah Shoals. I started crying and couldn't stop. As I'm writing this, I can't believe I'm feeling this way again, eight years later. It changed us, it changed our city, it took away our innocence, and it took away our feelings of safety. It was a long time before I could drive past the school and not feel just completely overwhelmed.

We've been asked if that had any influence on our decision to homeschool. No, not at all. I believe schools ARE safe. But now we know this can happen anywhere. Because it did.

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My dad and Sherry on "Rebel Hill" at adjacent Clement Park in 2001 with Holly and Trevor. Holly attended Girl Scout Camp here both that summer and the next. As you can imagine, it was a little hard to come to grips with the location.