Sara Kocek

Yesterday, during a casual conversation, someone asked me what my book was about. After I told him about the characters and plot, he looked at me without blinking and said, “Oh, so it’s about gay teen suicide?”

While PROMISE ME SOMETHING has plenty of lighthearted moments, it also tackles some weighty subjects, including bullying, homophobia, and yes—teen suicide. Without giving too much away, let’s just say that a certain character in the book commits suicide because her friends, family, and teachers react with cruelty when she comes out to them as gay.

I cried at multiple points while writing this book, but the day I cried the hardest was the day I sat at my desk doing hours of research on all the news stories of teens who have committed suicide as a result of homophobia. Not fictional characters. REAL PEOPLE. Young people who were betrayed in the worst possible way by their families, schools, churches, and even their friends.

Once I started looking for these stories, they didn’t stop. I found dozens of them, each story eerily similar to the one before it. The same “characters” seemed to appear again and again, from bigoted teachers making offhand comments in the classroom to parents who—intentionally or not—taught their children to be ashamed of themselves just because of their sexuality.

I felt outraged. I felt heartbroken.

And then I found The Born This Way Foundation. Led by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia, The BTWF is a nonprofit that aims to “reach youth and create a new culture of kindness, bravery, acceptance and empowerment.”

I have been a huge fan of Lady Gaga ever since she was my summer camp roommate when we were 14 years old. (Yes, we’re the same age! And no, she wasn’t called Lady Gaga back then.) When I first met her, I remember thinking that she looked like a popular girl—she had blonde hair with highlights and designer jeans. Because of those jeans, I remember thinking that she was probably going to be mean to me. After all, I wasn’t exactly popular, and I definitely didn’t own designer jeans.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Stefani was the best roommate I could have asked for. She was incredibly kind—not just to me, but to everyone in our hall. She didn’t think she was “above” anyone. Whether you were black, white, gay, straight, short, tall, popular or unpopular, she treated you with respect, kindness, and acceptance. And that’s when she was only 14.

So when I saw that Lady Gaga was behind The BTWF, I was intrigued and impressed. I’ve been following the progress of their Born Brave Bus Tour, which encourages teens to tell their stories of bravery. If my character Olive Barton were a real person, she would totally be all over this. After all, she has quite a story of bravery to tell.

So if you are a fan of PROMISE ME SOMETHING, I want to encourage you to get involved with the Born This Way Foundation, whether as a youth ambassador or just by participating online in the virtual Born Brave bus tour. Because while Olive may be a fictional character, she’s not alone. There are so many real teens out there who need your help in creating a more kind, loving, tolerant, supportive world.