Robert D. Vergeson:Walter and the Bullies

Kalamazoo Public Library presents Writers’ Block, a forum where independently published local writers can tell the world about their work. This episode features author Robert D. Vergeson who discusses his book Walter and the Bullies.

Walter and the Bullies is a true story on the lifetime impact of bullying on a child, and how it affected his adult life. Walter was born in 1951 premature and was labeled mentally retarded and physically handicapped as a result of continued health issues after his birth. The doctors told his parents that it would be best for all concerned that the infant should be institutionalized, as he would never grow up to be a productive adult. Walter entered the public school system with a stammer, stutter, and hearing loss, and the right side of his face paralyzed and the bullies in his school life called him retard, crooked face, freak, pushed and shoved, threw stones at him. They laughed and ridiculed him daily in and out of school. The bullies were his peers, teachers, and adults in his life. His challenges were not only emotional and physical, but educational with learning disabilities that put where he had to repeat physically 3 full grades over, repeating the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. Which only added more abuse by his peers, and teachers who couldn’t deal with Walter’s emotional problems and didn’t believe he was a victim of bullying. He was even once brutally beaten by a teacher in rage and by 17 he tried to commit suicide for the first time and many times in his adult life. The impact of bullying lasts a lifetime.

Robert D. Vergeson is the author of SF*Fantasy: (Ebooks) Time Jumper, Children of the Fountain, Temple of the Maze, Dragons, Embrace, and more. Mysteries/adventures for Teens: Johnathon Morgan series (2 books), Grand Apple Valley series (5 books), plays, essays, chapbooks, all on Smashwords.com under the pen name of Rowlen Delaware Vanderstone III.

Recorded 06/24/2021

Categories: Writers’ Block: Local Authors