Dear Reader,
If you made it to this page, you have done something extraordinary. You stayed with these stories. You sat with their pain and their hope. You learned things about the brain, the heart, and the human spirit that most people never learn. That takes courage. I am proud of you.
I wrote this book because I believe that knowledge saves lives. Not the kind on a test. The kind that lives in your gut—the knowing that says: I deserve better. I can get through this.
I also wrote it because I believe in you. Not as a concept. As a person. The specific, unique, irreplaceable person reading these words right now.
If this book helped you, pass it on. Give it to a friend, a sibling, a classmate. Leave it on a bus seat. Slide it into someone’s locker. The next person who reads it might be the one who needed it most.
With all my love,
The Author