Theodrick McCollum, a graduate of East Forsyth High School, chose the hard road of illicit drugs and underage drinking before he finally turned his life around and started helping others.

In an interview included in the book, Under the Influence: The Town That Listened to its Kids, Theodrick shared that he began abusing substances in high school because he felt self-conscious, sad, unloved, and unacceptable.  Not knowing that these feelings are typical of the teenage years, Theodrick sought the temporary fix of illicit substances, rather than developing healthy coping skills.  Thankfully, at the age of 34 he was able to turn his life around.

Today, Theodrick’s story and over 100 other stories are “talking” to the students at Western Rockingham Middle School and they are loving it.

Coach and PE Teacher Brandon Berteotti said, “Our youth relate to him because he was an athlete.  What this book does is it normalizes teenage life.  It lets our youth see that their lives are not as good or as bad as they think.”

Because Theodrick went on to become a Certified Drug Counselor, his story also includes a map for successfully navigating the teenage years.

Coach and PE Teacher Mary Shelton used an abbreviated version of Theodrick’s story which is found in the Teen Handbook section of Under the Influence, and then focused on 20 healthy coping skills.  Coping skills are things people do to feel better after they mess up, feel sad, or lose something they love.

“We read many sections of the book and the kids were attentive and asking good questions because they found the material relatable to their lives.  We also had them write down the toll free hotlines for suicide and crisis so they could share them with a friend or call a trained adult 24/7,” Coach Shelton said.

In Coach Renee Weedle’s class, reading the first three chapters of the book led to a whole flurry of activity.  Her students conducted the same drug survey that was done in Kernersville’s high schools in 1996.  They created drug free posters, journals, and adopted their favorite “Responses that Work” replies to peer pressures, and begged to read more of the book.

Then, on November 17, 2014 all the middle school students at the school had a chance to meet the local author, Patty Jo Sawvel.  They wanted to know what happened to the students in the book and what was going on in Kernersville today.

“It was obvious that these young people were genuinely touched by the stories they read in this book.  They were asking for more details and one girl even asked if the book could be made into a movie.  They were a great bunch of students with highly motivated teachers,” said Patty Jo.

Coach Weedle summed it up when she said, “To be honest, at first it was a struggle to use the book because we have a curriculum to cover.  But once we shared the first story and saw the way the students lit up we knew we had something special. They kept asking for more and we kept finding more stories that matched our curriculum.  I tell my students, ‘I wish I had had this when I was in school.’”

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To read a copy, visit any library in Forsyth County.  To purchase the Ebook or the Second Edition hardcover, visit Amazon.com or contact author Patty Jo Sawvel at 336.869.9102 for an autographed copy or Collector’s Edition.