Book tells coming of age story about effects of bullying, the measures one takes to be accepted
YORK, PA. – Cy Emery admits that he was bullied when he was a kid. Once he became a teacher, he had students who had been bullied. His own kids experienced bullying as well. This subject prompted him to write “Hiding in the Light: The Hunt” (published by Xlibris), a young adult, action-adventure, coming of age story about the effects of bullying and the measures one takes to be accepted.
Set in the South in the late 1960s, the book takes readers to the journey of Joseph Graham’s efforts to find himself and accept himself while facing the in-justices of adversaries. They mock his differences: his looks, his speech, and his thoughts are different from the other boys. This brings unwanted attention from the neighborhood bullies. The bullies and the affluent within his community all draw lines in the sand, and he is pushed to the middle. He searches for a way to escape his life of lack. But poverty, anger, and abuse offer no open doors. So, he struggles to stand and fight the slings and arrows of his haters until his moral compass is shattered.
Graham becomes a pawn in the street game of thuggery. Trying hard to prove himself and fit in, he takes on the persona of his alter ego. Through this fictional character, he can hide his sorrows in the light. He pretends the hurt does not hurt until he loses himself within his alter ego and spirals out of control; landing at death’s door. All while the bullies continue to sucker punch him with their verbal beat-downs. It was not until he met the one, he calls, “The Smartest Man Alive,” that his sun began to shine.
“Bullying is learned! A child was not born a bully,” Emery points out. “There are certain factors that make one a bully; anger, jealousy, overly aggressive behaviors, cultural issues, neighborhood factors, group dynamics. I want my audience to understand that bullies bully from a position of power; either by physical strength, numbers and or the law/rules are in their favor.”
About the Author
Cy Emery is an educator with a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in health education. He is a champion high school and collegiate coach. An author, mentor and motivational speaker, he is the recipient of the A.I. Garner Leadership Award, the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives: Distinguished Community Service Award and the Dr. Martin Luther King Leadership Development Institute’s Foot Soldier Award for Youth Leadership Development. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and the proud father of three sons.
