A Life Interrupted - The Story of My Battle with Bullying and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Sumi Mukherjee

Speaking Engagement

Sumi Mukherjee is a professional public speaker, currently focusing on bullying prevention. The theme of his speeches is centered around long term impact of prolonged childhood bullying, which has generally been a neglected topic until now. He speaks at schools and other appropriate venues to students, teachers, school administrators, mental health staff, and parents. His speeches address one or more of the following areas:

Different forms of bullying
Effects of bullying
Possible longer term impacts
Significant impacts on mental health
Lost years impact
Understanding the bully
What can be done to improve things

Sumi Mukherjee also speaks to groups focused on dealing with diversity issues.

Following are some of the comments Sumi has received over the last few months:
“The guest speaker was Sumi Mukherjee. He wrote a book titled: A Life Interrupted: The Story of My Battle with Bullying and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. He shared with the students his experiences of being bullied in school and how the traumatic events surrounding that caused him to develop a severe case of OCD. Our current health unit is titled: Owning Up: Empowering Teens to Confront Bullying, Social Cruelty, and Injustice. The speaker’s message was very powerful and the students were attentive and inspired by it. Sumi will be returning to our school again at a later time to work with our high school students on an activism project around the theme of bullying, social cruelty, or injustice.”
”Sumi is a very relaxed and comfortable speaker. His story resonates with many of the students. The students were engaged and raised their hands when asked in acknowledgement of shared experiences. Many students eagerly huddled around Sumi after the presentation to take his card and to continue a conversation with him. This shows evidence that his story connects with the students. Several students commented on how good it was to hear his personal experience and how they could hear that, learn and remember his experience.”
“Sumi Mukherjee spoke at HOPE Community Academy on his personal experiences with bullying. The middle school students responded very well to Sumi’s personal stories about what he experienced during the end of elementary through his middle school years. His personal accounts were very eye opening and compelling for the entire audience of staff and students. This led to students raising their hands to ask questions when Sumi had concluded with his presentation. Sumi was able to connect on a personal level with HOPE’s middle school student body. Overall, the middle school students and teachers walked away with a deeper understanding of the toll bullying can have on a person’s life.”
“Sumi Mukerjee spoke to my middle school health classes about his experiences with bullying and subsequent OCD. Sumi immediately established a rapport with the students and was able to get his message across in an interactive manner. During a post-presentation reflection, many students indicated a greater understanding of bullying as well as empathy for what it might be like to have OCD. I would highly recommend Sumi present to any group of young people. His message is important and powerful.”
“Thanks Sumi. The students really enjoyed your message and story. They have a note they would like to send to you. I can send it if you give me your address. I have a daughter in an elementary school in town and hope she can hear your message sometime in the future. “

“I was seeking presenters for my student support groups within the eight member districts of the Northwest suburbs of Minnesota. We became acquainted through one of the Title One Specialist in the Buffalo school district. Sumi was interested in sharing his life story and published book to students of all ages, and after speaking with him I was excited for him to come and speak with my students.
I am a Family Program Specialist for Northwest Suburban Integration School District and part of my job is to interact with people who are positive role models that want to help build positive character traits in young people. After meeting with Sumi I knew he would be a good speaker for the students in my groups.
Sumi Mukhergee speaks from his heart and is very reliable and committed to young people. We had the opportunity to have him speak to several student groups as well as professional educators within our eight member district and I found him to be not only caring and empathetic but also a good listener and communicator.”

If you would like to contact Sumi Mukherjee for a speaking engagement, please feel free to send him an email at sumis@earthlink.net

If you would like to view interviews with Sumi Mukherjee, please click this youtube link