“Thanks.”
After school, when I was collecting my pencil case and books, I overheard Ashleigh talking to
some other kids. “I was going to be late for my next class. I couldn’t find a way up the stairs because
of this stupid wheelchair when Mary-Jane showed me a ramp to the second floor.”
And as soon as I got home the phone rang. You would never believe it. It was Ashleigh and she
wanted me to come to a sleepover at her house.
“Wow... Me?... I’d love to come.” I couldn’t believe it—Ashleigh was being nice to me. I
had solved my problem. Ashleigh never bullied me again. I was happy. And that’s how the story ends.
STORY 95
SALLY’S PROBLEM
(contributed by Emma Barley)Therapeutic Characteristics
Problems Addressed
■ Domestic violence
■ Physical abuse
■ Protection of parents
■ Fear
■ PowerlessnessResources Developed
■ Acknowledging your limitations
■ Knowing when you are powerless
■ Knowing when to accept help
■ Discovering the values of helpful communication
■ Learning to use your support networkOutcomes Offered
■ Power to choose
■ Use of support networks
■ Openness of appropriate communication
■ Changing your circumstances
“Sally, what happened to your eye? Were you in a fight?” Sally’s best friend Tanya asked, sound-
ing concerned.
“What? Oh, nothing, nothing at all. I... I just fell over.”
But it wasn’t nothing. It had never been nothing. Ever since Sally’s mother, Violet Evestone, had
died tragically in a car accident 10 years ago, her father, John Evestone, would come home late every
night, smelling horribly of alcohol. He would stumble round the house and if Sally talked to him he
would shout and hit her. Her life was very hard.
218 Healing Stories, Teaching Stories