What made you want to tackle this issue?ROCHELLE B. WEINSTEIN:I am a mom.
I am the mother of twin boys who are 18.
I felt that parents today really just dont understand the anomaly of the internet.
Credit: Amazon; Inset: Courtesy Rochelle B. Weinstein
Our reaction to these types of mistakes goes a long way in teaching our youth and our children.
So yes, the empathy piece is so important to me.
trope instead of acknowledging women are deserving of respect no matter their familial status.
It could be anybodys child; it could be anybodys sister.
It could be anybody male or female because this is not just women.
It symbolizes that this could happen to absolutely anybody.
Somebodys daughter is every daughter per se.
We all need to be treated equally.
But I did want to show how there were different reactions.
When I was interviewing some of the victims, these were some of the true stories.
The mothers were a little more empathetic and understanding.
I believe it happens both ways.
You have different types of reactions and I wanted both of those reactions to be exploited in the story.
You mentioned you interviewed some victims and their parents.
We were talking about why do people do this?
And she said, Hurt people, hurt people.
Their contribution to the book really gave it the emotional muscle that it has.
Some authors are plotters and some authors are pantsers.
Im a little bit of both.
I like to also delve into the emotional, psychological side.
So, I started interviewing the victims very early on, before I even sat down to write.
I needed to shape my characters and shape my stories based on some of their experiences.
And then theres a surreptitious taping, you dont know youre being taped thats cyber-sexual harassment.
There were a couple of things I learned.
They should not be penalized for sharing with somebody that they love and trust.
The need for likes and swipes is very concerning to me.
We need to understand our kids better to understand why they need that pop in of validation.
Emma had her own reaction.
We talk about double standards.
I understand Zoe was young.
Im certainly not condoning any key in of behavior, but it happens.
Im just very realistic.
In the beginning, this drudged up all of Emmas own feelings because of her own shame.
She eventually learns something from her daughter.
She was able to open up her mind because of her daughters confidence.
We dont get to hide anymore behind certain subjects.
We need to have open lines of communication with our children.
They have a tremendous amount of freedom right now, and it comes with a lot more responsibility.
They need to understand long-term effects.
You always keep your phone and computer locked.
Most importantly, if you dont want something to get out there, dont post it.
What do you hope young women take away from this book?I hope they practice online safety.
I hope they understand what motivates them to post incessantly.
Its not just internet scandal.
Its the kid who gets in trouble for drugs, any bang out of trouble.
We all need to do a better job at showing some key in of compassion.
Technology gives people the opportunity to hide behind a screen so we dont see the flaws and the imperfections.
We are all flawed, and we are all imperfect.
Somebodys Daughteris now available wherever books are sold.
