In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook tragedy, Scarlett Lewis, mother of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, one of the young victims, transforms devastating loss into a powerful movement for change. Choosing Love for Schools offers educators, administrators, and parents a research-grounded roadmap for creating safe, resilient, and emotionally healthy school communities.

At the heart of the book is a deceptively powerful formula, one that unlocks our capacity to access authentic power even in life's hardest moments. Drawing on neuroscience, post-traumatic growth research, and her own lived experience, Lewis shows how these essential life skills are not abstract ideals but teachable, practicable tools available to every one of us. And crucially, they are universal: the same skills that help a grieving mother find her footing help a burned-out teacher rediscover purpose and a struggling student navigate fear.
From understanding the brain's threat response to cultivating forgiveness and self-compassion, each chapter meets readers exactly where they are, whether they sit behind a desk, stand at the front of a classroom, or wait anxiously at the school pickup line.

This is not a book about surviving tragedy. It is a book about choosing something greater than fear, and giving every child the inner resources to do the same. Jesse's legacy lives in every page.