Local doctor writes ‘Stand Up’ to bullying

A local doctor has joined with two East Rockaway musicians to educate kids about bullying with a new book and song that will be showcased at the East Rockaway Public Library on Oct. 18.

The book, “Stand Up!” was co-written by Oceanside resident, physician and author Dr. Lisa Roth. Roth, an allergist with a practice on Union Avenue in Lynbrook, was inspired to write the book after seeing the recent rise in bullying and school violence.

“I really love creative writing,” said Roth, who also wrote a children’s book entitled The Magical Journey. “Its a passion of mine, and its how I like to express myself. Bullying is a really big issue in our schools and I wanted to talk about it.”

In order to better understand the issue, Roth partnered with Dr. Karen Siris, an elementary school principal and bullying expert. “We combined resources in order to try to help kids deal with these issues, and really try to educate them about what the effects can be,” Roth said.

The book follows a nameless protagonist as he observes the school bully, Alex, harass a classmate named Jamie. After becoming fed up with Alex’s antics, the protagonist rallies a “caring majority” of fellow kind-hearted classmates to comfort Jamie, and confront Alex, who by the end of the book, apologizes to his former victim.

The story’s heroes have no names and no faces, as the illustrations, hand painted by art teacher Marsha Letvin, depict only the children’s feet. Roth said she did this in order to help children relate to the story.

“They can’t look at the book and say ‘that person doesn’t look like me, so I can’t act like that.’ Instead, they see a pair of shoes, probably similar to what they wear on their feet and can relate easier to that idea. That way they see that they can also make these changes in their own schools,” Roth explained.