“Sticks and stones” was never the whole truth. In this Author of the Month reflection, Joshua Bennett-Johnson looks back on childhood bullying from both sides: the child who used cruelty to feel bigger, and the child who later felt the sting of public humiliation. The result is a candid, human essay about shame, empathy, repair, and why words can leave wounds long after the moment passes.

Author of the Month Joshua Bennett-Johnson writes that real therapy is not always soft, calm, or comfortable. Sometimes the deepest breakthroughs happen when things become emotionally difficult.

Bullying doesn’t end when it ends—it follows you even into adulthood. Author and therapist Lisa Cavallaro writes about how bullying can become deeply tied to mental health.