About the Author

LUCINDA ROY is an Alumni Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech, where she has taught since 1985. Author of the novels Lady Moses and The Hotel Alleluia and two poetry collections, she is the recipient of numerous writing and teaching awards, including a statewide Outstanding Faculty Award in 2005. From 2002—2006, she served as chair of Virginia Tech’s Department of English.

Reviews

"NO RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT exposes gaping flaws in the system for dealing with dangerously troubled students....Lucinda Roy is frustrated. She has reason to be....[she] conveys the anguish of being caught up in one of these tragedies."
–The Washington Post

“NO RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT is a fine work. Roy is a good writer and a good person.”
–The Economist

“An important contribution to the literature of grieving. I am certain other books will be published exploring the many complex issues that pertain to the Cho incident, but none is likely to have the personal and intense connection to the killer as does this one….A touchstone for subsequent treatements of the tragedy at Virginia Tech.”
–Roanoke Times

"A Virginia Tech faculty member somberly narrates her fruitless attempts to secure counseling for Seung-Hui Cho and examines the implications of his subsequent rampage....Calm analysis only highlights the urgency of Roy's warning that fundamental problems in American culture need to be addressed lest similar tragedies recur."
–Kirkus Reviews

"Roy's book takes an unflinching look at Seung-Hui Cho, the day's horrific events, and the University's role in warning students and recovering afterward....Roy is driven by a responsibility to tear down the Tech administration's 'wall of silence.' The book raises important issues regarding the limits of privacy, where a family's duties end and a school's begin, and how likely it is that more rigorous attention could lead to unnecessary suspensions and expulsions."
–Publishers Weekly