Excerpt from a YouTube interview about the book "The Book For Kids Who DON’T Fit In" (uploaded by Chris Collins). In this segment Tony Weaver Jr. reflects on unexpected reactions from parents: parents have told him his book helped them navigate situations like bullying, school changes, and suicidal ideation in their children. Weaver emphasizes he wrote primarily for struggling kids but was humbled by parents who used the book as support while caring for children in crisis.
Is there a reaction that somebody has had from the book that you didn't expect?
I think the reactions I get from parents.
Are the things that really get to me. Because when I think about it, I think about the kids. I'm writing for the kids. My parents are central characters in the book. But when I wrote it like that, it was because, well, that's my life. That's how it happened. My parents were there. I was dealing with mental health stuff. But it's not like they abandoned me. They were trying to help, too.
But I spent so much time thinking about the kid who's struggling with self esteem or the kid who's suicidal that I didn't think about, like, the dad who has to get up and go to work every day knowing that his child is suicidal, knowing that, like, I gotta keep an eye on him because I'm. This is the person that I love most in the entire world. And for whatever reason, they don't want to be here. And I got to deal with that. I got to do something to help. So there have been parents that come speak to me, and even though their words are limited, the words that they do use speak volumes because they'll never outright say it. They'll say, my son moved to a new school. My son was dealing with bullying. One parent that I spoke to in New York, the way that he framed it was, this year has been a really hard year for us. This new school has been a struggle for us. This has been a really difficult time for us. And I've been trying to help. And your book. Thank you. And your book.
Was really, really helpful for me, and I want to thank you for that. And there's something.
Very humbling about that. If you think about a parent, it's like, your kid is like your treasure. Like, this is my child. I love my child. And my child is struggling, and I want to help. And I don't know how to help. I don't know what to do. This is. This is the top of my priority list. I deeply need to help this person that I love than anybody in the world. And if in that moment, you reach for something that has my name on. Says Tony Weaver Jr. On the front.
And you're able to find healing in that and find support in that. Whoa, man. That, like, that humbles me every time. Yeah. Yeah. That's beautiful.
