Everyday, millions of parents arise, getting their children ready for another day of education at what they deem to be one of the safest places in their communities—the school. As they turn away, many go on about their day, traveling to work, other commitments, and counting down the hours until they are reunited with their littles. For a unique community of parents, a single phone call (or news report) indefinitely shattered the sanctity of this institution—and it involved a shooter.
“Gun violence and school shootings are a uniquely American epidemic,” the Sandy Hook Promise website reads. For children of color, the epidemic statistics are even more staggering. According to the Children’s Defense Fund, “Children of color are far more likely to experience campus gun violence. It’s more than twice as much for Hispanic students and over three times as much for Black students.” Crystal Foster was one of those students.35 years ago, on May 31, 1990, Foster was a nine-year-old fourth grader at Fort Worth’s Sunrise Elementary, and on that day, she (as well as one of her other peers) became a victim of gun violence. The school shooting at Sunrise Elementary left Foster wounded and hospitalized, but now, as an adult and as a survivor, she is ready to tell it all, with the release of her new memoir Alive on Purpose.“I was in the middle of writing another book…and in the midst of writing that book, I got to the part of being shot at school and I was like—with all of the school shootings going on…maybe I could do a kids book about this little short story here,” Foster said.It was a story that she was all too familiar with, and one that she had recounted numerous times; however, this time, on the 35th anniversary of the shooting, she was able to do it again, but in her way.Alive on Purpose is the depiction of Foster’s experience, but told through the eyes of her younger self. Styled as a children’s book, the story includes full-page, color illustrations, and an easy-to-read narration of her survival and journey to triumph. Most importantly, it describes how “finding strength through faith” was the ultimate healer of her wounds.
“One of the things that I hear all of the time, when [people] hear about me getting shot at school—they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh…that’s so traumatic.’ I’m like, it’s only traumatic because you said it was so,” Foster said. “God is always with us. He sees us, He hears us, He’s with us, and we don’t even realize it. So even in my traumatic moments, and in my sadness…He was always there, before I even knew or grasped who He really was.”Foster’s faith in God is what has cloaked her in serenity for the past 35 years, and has even gifted her a unique outlook on her experience: forgiveness. Despite never meeting the three teenagers who wounded her and her 10-year-old classmate many years ago, and in spite of what anyone may think, forgiving the unforgivable is one of the key takeaways she wants readers to walk away with from her book.“I see so many people that have so much unforgiveness in their hearts. Even though I don’t know [the shooters] and I’ve never held malice [towards them], as a believer, I just wanted to be that example,” she said softly. “I don’t know you personally, but as a believer, I forgive you. I’m still alive—and if God allowed me to walk out of a hospital where I could have been paralyzed from the waist down…how can you hold malice? How can you hold unforgiveness? Even though at that age, I [didn’t] know what that looked like, I do…now.”Foster has spent nearly three decades in the medical field, and is also an entrepreneur and community advocate. As the Co-Founder of nonprofit MoMA—Missing Our Moms Always, she provides assistance and support for individuals who have lost their mothers. Throughout it all, Foster proves that life, indeed, goes on.“God has a plan and a purpose for all of us—no matter if we’ve been through a traumatic experience, or not. Don’t let that define who you are. Do what God has called you to do and choose it with joy. God is the God of second chances, but man isn’t always as forgiving and loving as God is,” Foster said. “Only one person shot me, but the other people in the car got the same sentence. Just be mindful of your choices because it could change the rest of your life.”Alive on Purpose is now available online on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other platforms.
