Trauma is messy. Healing is messier.
eBook release – May 24, 2022
Hardcover/paperback release – September 13, 2022
Publisher: Motina Books
Awards: Firebird Book Awards 2022 – Teen and LGBTQ+ Fiction
Sometimes the hardest battles are the ones unseen until it’s too late. Or, in the case of the Pleasant Valley Treatment Center residents, almost too late.
After a suicide attempt makes Tobias the newest resident, he’s faced with the prospect of healing but finds he’s not alone.
The one everyone calls Bullfrog is recovering from severe burns, and no one knows why.
Matthew, former star of the school football team, struggles with expectation.
Darla, used to getting whatever she wants, faces an unexpected turn in her recovery.
Bookish Renee is more at home in worlds of fiction rather than facing reality.
Derek enters a last ditch effort to treat his apparent schizophrenia.
A brutal reunion with Kate’s ex leaves her mistrusting everyone, including herself.
Beautiful and wild, Liz’s bipolar disorder threatens to destroy her.
As the group begins to open up, they each try to find a way forward. But when Derek regresses, Tobias must get the others to band together to help him. And maybe help themselves along the way.
WARNING
This is a book about mental health in all its not so glory. Potentially triggering content includes but is not limited to:
suicide/self-harm | addiction | abduction | child abuse | homophobia | misdiagnosis | death |
violence | arson/fire | sexual assault | childhood trauma | neglect
Meet the Residents
“Real. Raw. Challenging. Three words that I would use to describe this book. She addresses mental health and trauma without stigmatizing or backing away from the uncomfortable…”
Angelica Harris
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