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Aija Mayrock Beats the Bullies

Young, Santa Barbara-raised author pens The Survival Guide to Bullying .

Aija Mayrock Beats the Bullies
Aija Mayrock

The old saying “The pen is mightier than the sword” is an adage to which Aija Mayrock, the 19-year-old author of The Survival Guide to Bullying, can certainly attest.

Before penning her guide, which is being published this week by Scholastic, the young author moved to Santa Barbara from New York when she was 14. During her middle and high school years, she was a victim of bullying in both places.

“I was bullied verbally as well as cyberbullied,” said Mayrock. “I would sit at the table and write stories, and I was different from everyone else and I think that people are afraid of what they don’t understand.”