Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy

On April 20, 1999, Sue Klebold’s son Dylan, along with his friend and classmate Eric Harris, killed 13 people and injured 21 others before killing themselves at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Following this tragedy, Sue Klebold’s life quickly became what must have seemed to be a never–ending nightmare. She understandably avoided the media, not wanting her words to be misconstrued or taken out of context, and legitimately feared for her and her family’s safety. In the days, weeks, months, and years after Columbine, she kept a low profile, living quietly with her husband Tom and son Byron. Her brief forays into the media spotlight were few and carefully selected; she and her husband consented to interviews with writers David Brooks and Andrew Solomon, and in 2009 she published a heartwrenching article for Oprah Winfrey’s O magazine entitled “I Will Never Know Why.”