I Choose to be Happy

I Choose to be Happy: A School Shooting Survivor's Triumph over Tragedy is a memoir by Missy Jenkins, in partnership with William Croyle. The book follows Missy's life after she survived the Heath High School shooting in 1997 in West Paducah, Kentucky. Missy, one of the eight people killed or injured during the shooting, became paralyzed from the chest down because of her wounds. She writes about survival and triumphing over violence through forgiveness, and the courage to live another day.

Missy begins by taking the reader to the scene of the crime. She mentions her oblivious attitude as she walked through the halls of her school, not knowing that day would change the rest of her life. She describes the terror of seeing the freshmen student, Michael Carneal, walk into school with a weapon. He began shooting at random in the lobby of the high school. That day, three girls were killed and five others were injured, including Missy, who was rushed to the hospital.

Missy survived but not without serious injury. Paralyzed from the chest down, she had to endure months of physical and psychological therapy to recover from the emotional and physical trauma caused by the incident. Eventually, Missy was able to return to school, but her life had changed forever. She had a wheelchair and a disability that altered the way she saw and moved through the world.



Missy tells her story from the remainder of her high school years until the birth of her first child. Missy was unique because she forgave Michael Carneal quite quickly for the horrific injury he had caused her and the way he had unalterably changed her life. She credits this forgiveness to her faith. A Christian, Missy elaborates on her faith as a catalyst for the speed with which she forgave Carneal for his crimes. Her faith, she affirms, made it possible for her to forgive; through that forgiveness, she was able to move forward and be happy in her own life, rather than dwelling on an imagined future that now could never be.

In her memoir, Missy goes into depth about the nature of forgiveness, in part because she did it, and in part because she knows that not everyone can or should. Rather than putting herself on a pedestal for forgiving, Missy describes forgiveness as situational and unique; a person can only know if he or she can forgive someone for a horrific action after experiencing it, when he or she is living that story. Though Missy did forgive Carneal, she makes it clear that forgiveness should not be an expectation thrust upon victims and their families after a crime is committed.

Missy describes how her life has changed since the shooting. She is mostly positive, sharing the experience she had and the ways her life would be different if she had not been shot. She is specifically interested in the way that being a victim forced her into the limelight. As a shy kid, Missy was uncomfortable speaking in front of crowds, but she found new confidence when she realized that it was important for her to share her story, advocating for other victims and for the safety of all students. Being put in that situation changed her for the better and brought her the life she has today.



Though Missy shares a story of triumph over the trauma, disability, and resentment that can come from victimhood, she worries about Carneal's appeals, hoping that the courts won't release a disturbed and dangerous man. Mostly, however, she writes about how forgiveness made her life better and how living well is the best cure in the aftermath of violence.

Missy Jenkins is a writer, disability advocate, and the author of I Choose to be Happy. A survivor of the Heath High School shooting, she has spoken openly about her experience after being paralyzed from the chest down. She has written multiple books about her experiences and her life after the shooting, mostly to help educate kids about school violence. She often speaks in schools and other public arenas and is a victim's advocate.