The mother of Sophie Elliott believes that the book she has written with a friend and former policeman about the family's experience and abusive relationships has already saved lives.
Lesley Elliott said men had emailed her saying they had been in tears after reading Sophie's Legacy, released in June, and women had ended relationships because they recognised signs of abusive relationships that her daughter had experienced.
"I said if we save one life, it'll be worth it, but I feel like we've saved a lot of lives."
Sophie Elliot was brutally murdered by her former boyfriend in 2008.
Mrs Elliott will be bringing Sophie's story to Marlborough Girls' College on September 15, in the hope that teenage girls will recognise the signs of relationship abuse that she and her daughter missed.
She said the presentation would tell girls that if their boyfriends did not make them feel good about themselves, then they needed to question whether they should be in the relationship.
People should talk with someone they trusted if they think they were having relationship problems, she said.
Even if some girls had never been in a relationship, she hoped they would remember Sophie's story.
Sharing her daughter's experiences was difficult, but for the greater good, she said. "I would prefer not to be doing it at all, but Sophie's story has hit a spot with people."
The book recounts the day 22-year-old Sophie was murdered by her former boyfriend, 32-year-old Clayton Weatherston, in her Dunedin bedroom in 2008 and the family's journey through grief and the justice system.
Weatherston is serving a minimum 18-year prison sentence for the murder. He is appealing his conviction in the Supreme Court.
Mrs Elliott said the book took some persuasion from co-author William O'Brien, who approached the family about writing a book because he believed Sophie's name had been "dragged through the mud" during the trial.
"I didn't think there was a book in it, to be honest. It's just a tragic story," she said.
But when she began writing, the words just flowed.
"Once it got going, there was plenty to say. It offered the opportunity to tell the whole story. There were plenty of tears shed, and sometimes I felt it was all too hard and I wanted to bail out, but then I thought about Sophie."
The Sophie Elliott Foundation was set up last year and aims to make relationship and dating programmes compulsory in schools. All proceeds from the book will go to the foundation.
Tickets to the talk in Blenheim, which starts at 7pm at the girls' college hall, are $5 for adults, $2 for students and $10 for families. Tickets can be bought at the hall from 6pm on the day.
- The Marlborough Express
SIMON WONG
No comments:
Post a Comment