Join us out on the patio for an afternoon reading with author and educator, Krista Hanley, with her new memoir, How to Survive a Mass Shooting: A Columbine Memoir.

How to Survive a Mass Shooting: A Columbine Memoir (Motina Books) chronicles the life of a Columbine High School mass shooting survivor during the days, months, and years that followed. Memories of school and friendships before the event weave through chaos and guilt that erupted in the wake of one of the most notorious mass shootings in the United States. How-to lists are employed throughout the book, borrowing from the self-help genre to break up the narrative and acknowledge the desperate and sometimes-fruitless search for answers and healing.

While our nation continuously faces senseless violence, the memoir aims to widen the discussion on our culture of violence and individual trauma. How to Survive a Mass Shooting addresses the losses and struggles of mass shooting survivors, and how turning towards art, sharing our stories, and empowering ourselves can bring resilience, recovery, and maybe even hope.

About the Author:

Krista Hanley’s work lives at the intersection of trauma, creativity, and empowerment. A survivor of the tragedy at Columbine High School, she writes and speaks about transforming trauma into meaning. Her debut book, How to Survive a Mass Shooting: A Columbine Memoir (Motina Books 9/2026) explores her life before and after Columbine. Her award-winning creative nonfiction has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Memoir Magazine, and she has been featured on BBC, NPR, ABC, and Colorado Public Radio.

Krista is the co-owner of We Are Safer Together, where she facilitates trauma-informed self-defense and empowerment programs for individuals, schools, and organizations. With more than a decade of experience in violence prevention training, she integrates somatic awareness, boundary-setting skills, and prevention education into practical, ethical, and trauma-informed safety programming.