NDG book review: “Treating Violence” is a timely and motivating read

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Well, thank you to your colleague.

There you have it, you caught that nasty virus, that scratchy throat, that aching body, that upset stomach, that insomnia virus. He sneezed and that was all it took. Now you have the same virus he did and you’re trying not to spread it. As you know, and as Dr. Rob Gore’s new book, Treating Violence, says, an epidemic affects everyone.

Once upon a time, Rob Gore had a brother.

Angel wasn’t biologically related to him, but soon after Gore’s parents took the boy into their care, Gore started to see Angel as a sibling. They would wrestle and play together. Gore looked after his “brother” and as Angel grew older, he did the same for Gore. But Angel was anything but an angel and slowly he started selling drugs.

Gore says he wishes he had done more to stop him. Eventually, Angel went to prison.
Growing up in Brooklyn, Gore knew the streets were not kind to people who looked like him, to people with brown or black skin, and he understood early on how privileged he was. He was granted – and sometimes squandered – the best education. When he got the chance to “shadow” sports medicine doctors in high school and noticed that there were few black people in the medical profession, he saw his own future. Gore attended Morehouse College with the goal of helping black and brown people in need.

According to the CDC, he says, “homicide… is the second leading cause of death for black males ages one to nine…” but there are ways to identify problems before they become dangerous and spiral out of control. The process begins with examining a person’s childhood traumas and what happened to them as an adult, followed by listening, acknowledging, and asking for calm. Gore was aware of this as a young doctor and decided to do something about it.

“The lack of funding was an obstacle,” he says, “but the seed was planted and my conviction continued to grow.”

They are tired of attending funerals and tired of reading about yet another dead child somewhere. They are ready to act. They are ready to read Treating Violence.

This book might actually excite you: Author Rob Gore, MD, begins by explaining what street violence does to black communities and families that is shocking and disturbing. This begins his biography, which offers a brief (too brief!) introduction to how and why Gore ultimately founded KAVI, an organization that uses trained volunteers to reduce anger levels and any desire for revenge when someone is a victim of violence.

The story is compelling, but readers may feel a little cheated by the rushed transition from Gore’s life and work as an emergency room doctor to KAVI. Information about KAVI and similar organizations may spur you to action. An abrupt end to Gore’s personal stories may disappoint you.

But given the Surgeon General’s recent warning against the use of firearms, Treating Violence couldn’t be more timely or necessary. Find it, read it for the excellent biography and ideas, statistics and urgency — and get to work.