Death from Child Abuse

Death From Child Abuse Reaction Paper

Never in my life have I encountered a more emotionally draining, motivating through awareness book. Ursula Sunshine Assaid , a five year old little girl, was killed by child abuse. She was mutilated, hit, kicked, starved, fed soap... the list goes on and on. Death From Child Abuse... and no one heard is a book about the last week of Ursula's life. She resided in Florida with her mother Susan and her mother's boyfriend Don. Don had demented views on disciplining children and was convinced that Ursula was a misbehaved spoiled brat that needed to be punished. He took on the role of discipliner, while her mother stood by and watched. The book graphically describes the pain this poor child probably went through the last week before she died.

My reaction to this book included disgust, becoming literally sick to my stomach, and becoming completely motivated to do whatever I could so no other child would have to endure what Ursula went through. At the conclusion I could do nothing but cry. Cry for Ursula, cry for the numerous other children who underwent the same thing, and mainly cry because I knew at that moment, somewhere a child was experiencing what Ursula went through. As a current child abuse awareness billboard reads, "An abused child can't cry out for help... sometimes all they can do is cry."

As advanced as our society is and with the high spirit of freedom and individual rights, it pains me that we are sometimes to preoccupied to notice the signs that would suggest something is wrong. My reaction is caused not only because I am a decent human being, but also because I am a mother. As a mother, I can not begin to fathom anyone hurting their children. I hurt when my son hurts. The rare occasions I have to discipline my son brings out the truth that it sometimes "hurts the parents more than the child." Reading the book it was very clear that Don was deluded. He seemed to honestly believe that he was doing what was best for Ursula in the long run. The mother, in my opinion, is just as guilty as Don. How anyone could stand by and not help a child in that situation is unthinkable.

The main implication I can take away from this as a professional practitioner is awareness. I am confident that with a tool like Death From Child Abuse... and no one heard, many can be educated to look