Kelsea Ballerini Opens Up About Witnessing A School Shooting In New Poem

For the first time, Kelsea Ballerini is opening up about her emotional trauma that stems from a school shooting she witnessed as a sophomore in high school.

The “half of my hometown” singer sat down with CBS News Journalist Anthony Mason to talk about her new poetry book, Feel Your Way Through, which releases on Tuesday (November 16). In the book, Ballerini delves into some emotional, personal hurdles she’s endured, and one of them stood out as a moment she “certainly (couldn’t) avoid” writing about. Ballerini witnessed her classmate, Ryan McDonald, killed in a school shooting by another classmate at Knoxville’s Central High School in 2008. He was 15. It’s a moment that Ballerini has never talked about — until now.

Tears streamed down Ballerini’s face as she spoke with Mason about her poem, “His Name Was Ryan”:

“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 reiterated “I’ve never talked about it before” as she apologized for crying, and said the experience made her very aware that “life is short.” Harrowing excerpts reflect on the tragedy, and detail the impact it had on Ballerini over the years. Ballerini also wrote poems about lessons learned she learned from “cancel culture” — saying, as she takes a sip from her mug, that “the tea is piping hot, Anthony” — and her journey to overcome body image issues, among the range of topics in her book.

If you or someone you know needs immediate mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

Watch Ballerini's interview about Feel Your Way Through here: