Kelsea Ballerini’s new book of poetry, “Feel Your Way Through,” is out today and it includes a poem about seeing her friend shot at school when she was just 15.
The incident happened in 2008 at Central High School in Tennessee when her friend Ryan McDonald was shot and killed by classmate Jamar Siler. In the poem, “His Name Was Ryan," Kelsea reveals “I’m scared of loud noises, I’m triggered by the news, I’m terrified of guns, I’m sensitive in crowds. But I’m alive.”
In an interview with "CBS Mornings" Kelsea talked about her decision to write and talk about her experience, which was something she hasn’t really done before. “With this particular situation, I’ve never talked about it before, but as the book was forming, I was realizing that...if I’m gonna talk about the things that have made me ‘me,’ I certainly can’t avoid this,” she shared,” noting that the whole thing made her really realize that “life is short.”