Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Mark Talley lost his mother, Geraldine Talley, on May 14th, 2022 at the Tops on Jefferson in the City of Buffalo at the hands of an 18-year-old gunman with a racist agenda.
"I was in a tidal wave of emotion. Nothing but numbness, rage and anger over me."
As a way to get in a better headspace, Talley started to put pen to paper. "I just started jotting down little tidbits here and there on a notepad about how I felt, stuff I wanted to do and accomplish, basically, just as a way to get get all this rage and anger out of me."
Those notes led to the formation of his non-for-profit group, Agents for Advocacy, and with the help of the organization and an event they sponsored, he connected with a writer who pushed him to put all his thoughts together in a book.
"My organization, alongside the Erie County Public Library Foundation, sponsored [an event] for international best selling and award-winning author Jackquie Abram to come up to Buffalo to give, basically, our own version of a TED Talk here in Buffalo regarding systemic racism since she went through that trauma at her workplace," Talley explained.
"Jacquie and I met and spoke, we didn't necessarily compare each of our traumas together, but we understood that our trauma both came from systemic racism. She encouraged me to write a book regarding how I felt about every day. So over the next 7-8 months, she was very instrumental in the process of helping me write this book and get it. compact, precise."
The book, "5/14: The Day the Devil Came to Buffalo" shares the story of the Buffalo mass shooting from Talley's point-of-view.
"The book goes into detail regarding my mother and I's relationship, how I felt after 5/14, some of the trials and tribulations I had to go through during my 20s when I had severe partial complex epilepsy and everything regarding the immediate aftermath of stuff we have to deal with behind the scenes after the terrorist attack."
Talley wants the people to know that this is not a self-help book or a way to overcome grief.
"There's no way of overcoming this grief, no way of overcoming pain, stuff like this, you're going to constantly deal with. So when people read this book, I just want them to read and understand the emotions that I went through regarding everything."
However, he hopes that his words could help somebody.
"You really won't see that many emotions on me physically, but deep on the inside, it's a constant struggle, a constant battle and hopefully this book can help anybody find closure, hopefully doing the opposite of stuff I did. I definitely hope it helps that person."
Talley shared the toughest part of the book he wrote, which was when he described what he saw on the gunman's livestream, where people could view the heinous acts unfold via the internet.
"Having to relive and talk about seeing the terrorist get out of the vehicle he was in, seeing the tactical gear, seeing the semi-automatic weapon that he had, along with a lot of racial epithets written on the rifle and immediately seeing him shoot somebody right there."
Talley's book comes out on May 14th on Amazon.
Talley adds that Agents for Advocacy will be partnering with Buffalo Community Fridge and Tops on the day of his mother's birthday, June 3rd, to provide hot meals to those in need at 286 East Ferry St. He will be doing book signings in June at Fitz Book and Waffles. More details will be made available on Agents for Advocacy's Facebook and Instagram pages.
