Essence® bestselling author Travis Hunter tells the story of a young woman who takes control of her own destiny after lifelong abuse. Zola Zaire has not had an easy life. She was raped at thirteen by her mother’s boyfriend—with her mother’s permission. Her mother and the man went to prison for the crime, and Zola, damaged from the experience, spent years running wild. Abuse was all she’d known, and she got comfortable as a bottom dweller. Even after she gave birth to a son, she couldn’t get herself together, and her son was sent to a foster home. Now Zola is living with Andre, a wealthy man who has given her a more stable and luxurious life. Things are far from perfect, however, because Andre has started to use Zola as his punching bag. One night, as she races out of the house to escape from another beating, she is rescued by Ian DeMarco, a stranger who is driving by the scene. Ian and Zola’s chance encounter sets off a chain of events that neither of them could have foreseen. Ian finds himself needing help from the father he rejected long ago, and an unexpected murder leaves Zola fearing that she will be framed for the crime. An unlikely ally helps uncover the shocking truth about a deadly game of revenge that has left them both in danger.

May your inner strength shine through the dark times. May life be a light for you to know that someone has been through a similar pain. May these words show you, that trauma is only a small fraction of who you are. Remember to stop occasionally. Patience comes easier when you're focused on the moment at hand and remember to breath. It's good for the soul to welcome good days and bad ones. It is also ok to fall somewhere in between stuffed animals and your favourite chair and even if you can't erase the memories, remember you're making your own memories now. Sometimes you're going to feel trapped. But always remember; you have the freedom to choose. Chin up buttercup! You're a warrior. Screw them! Stop trying to please them! Yes, you do have a voice! Stand tall! Even in your darkest moments when you feel like shit and could care less about grace and gratitude! Karma will collect when it's due. Check your karma card. Second thought be more grateful than that... Live and stay balanced with the universe. Know that abuse, shame and pain can never truly define who you are. They say, "practice makes perfect '' but who the hell is? Nobody. Don't waste the time you have. Life is short and the moments left behind are fleeting. Always trust your instinct, your intuition and respect your values. Even if no one else will. Stand tall and speak more to the weak and less to the proud. Pour your heart out and yes it will break you and yes it will crumble your pride it never your spirit. Never. The sun will shine eventually. Then you will laugh, and you will cry and maybe even get mad. But the words you read here are pure, unfiltered and unrequited. Damage is only a word. You have the power to allow it to consume your heart. You will stray and run into danger. Drugs and alcohol can temporarily calm the hunger. But underneath you are still aching from the pain. You can try to drain all the shame from your veins. But reality is simple. When all is said and done, we have lost our way to live. We forgot our humanity. Who the hell wants to walk in their scars, when they can walk around them? I say to you with a proud voice, "swim in your pain rather than skip muddy puddles. Paint with your tears. Become the physical manifestation of a warrior and release it all! Who knows? You might actually heal." Yes, we are can be vulnerable by choice and not by force. Admit it. You can find peace in revealing your truth and letting your shame be known. I cried and screamed out to that little girl with force and tried to burn every twisted thought and internal battle. Why? Because I allowed my pain to hinder my purpose. I ran away from my trauma. This book is not to blame you, him or her. It is my story, my journey and my reconciliation with me. With her. Yes, that little girl. Our stories are not unique. They are universal." There are millions of people who have faced abuse, neglect, abandonment, suicide and depression. We all hurt the same and we are all a little damaged and changed.

Winner of the 2018 Pura Belpre Award! “A book for anyone mending from childhood wounds.”—Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street In this unforgettable multicultural coming-of-age narrative—based on the author’s childhood in the 1960s—a young Cuban-Jewish immigrant girl is adjusting to her new life in New York City when her American dream is suddenly derailed. Ruthie’s plight will intrigue readers, and her powerful story of strength and resilience, full of color, light, and poignancy, will stay with them for a long time. Ruthie Mizrahi and her family recently emigrated from Castro’s Cuba to New York City. Just when she’s finally beginning to gain confidence in her mastery of English—and enjoying her reign as her neighborhood’s hopscotch queen—a horrific car accident leaves her in a body cast and confined her to her bed for a long recovery. As Ruthie’s world shrinks because of her inability to move, her powers of observation and her heart grow larger and she comes to understand how fragile life is, how vulnerable we all are as human beings, and how friends, neighbors, and the power of the arts can sweeten even the worst of times.

NAMED A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2021 BY THE TIMES AND THE SUNDAY TIMES "Irreversible Damage . . . has caused a storm. Abigail Shrier, a Wall Street Journal writer, does something simple yet devastating: she rigorously lays out the facts." —Janice Turner, The Times of London Until just a few years ago, gender dysphoria—severe discomfort in one’s biological sex—was vanishingly rare. It was typically found in less than .01 percent of the population, emerged in early childhood, and afflicted males almost exclusively. But today whole groups of female friends in colleges, high schools, and even middle schools across the country are coming out as “transgender.” These are girls who had never experienced any discomfort in their biological sex until they heard a coming-out story from a speaker at a school assembly or discovered the internet community of trans “influencers.” Unsuspecting parents are awakening to find their daughters in thrall to hip trans YouTube stars and “gender-affirming” educators and therapists who push life-changing interventions on young girls—including medically unnecessary double mastectomies and puberty blockers that can cause permanent infertility. Abigail Shrier, a writer for the Wall Street Journal, has dug deep into the trans epidemic, talking to the girls, their agonized parents, and the counselors and doctors who enable gender transitions, as well as to “detransitioners”—young women who bitterly regret what they have done to themselves. Coming out as transgender immediately boosts these girls’ social status, Shrier finds, but once they take the first steps of transition, it is not easy to walk back. She offers urgently needed advice about how parents can protect their daughters. A generation of girls is at risk. Abigail Shrier’s essential book will help you understand what the trans craze is and how you can inoculate your child against it—or how to retrieve her from this dangerous path.

A journalist uncovers the dark secrets of an abandoned boarding school in this chilling suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel. Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants—the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the ones too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall, and local legend says the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their friendship blossoming—until one of them mysteriously disappears.... Vermont, 2014. Twenty years ago, journalist Fiona Sheridan's elder sister’s body was found in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And although her sister’s boyfriend was tried and convicted of the murder, Fiona can’t stop revisiting the events, unable to shake the feeling that something was never right about the case. When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during renovations links the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past—and a voice that won’t be silenced....

A 2019 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection A 2018 New York Public Library Best Book for Teens Macy's school officially classifies her as "disturbed," but Macy isn't interested in how others define her. She's got more pressing problems: her mom can't move off the couch, her dad's in prison, her brother's been kidnapped by Child Protective Services, and now her best friend isn't speaking to her. Writing in a dictionary format, Macy explains the world in her own terms--complete with gritty characters and outrageous endeavors. With an honesty that's both hilarious and fearsome, slowly Macy reveals why she acts out, why she can't tell her incarcerated father that her mom's cheating on him, and why her best friend needs protection . . . the kind of protection that involves Macy's machete.

Rescuing others, losing yourself. Are you a white knight? Are you attracted to needy, damaged, or helpless people? Do you feel like your love can heal your partner? Are you overly involved in your partner's problems? Are you hungry for constant reassurance in relationships? Do you make excuses for your partner? Do you try to "save" people from themselves? In legends and fairytales, the white knight rescues the damsel in distress, falls in love, and saves the day. Real-life white knights are men and women who enter into romantic relationships with damaged and vulnerable partners, hoping that love will transform their partner's behavior or life-a relationship pattern that seldom leads to a storybook ending. If this dynamic sounds familiar to you, you may be a white knight; hoping to receive admiration, validation, or love from your partners, but managing only to cheat yourself out of emotionally healthy relationships. It's time to come to your own rescue, and this book can help. With well-written analysis, engaging insight, and salient case studies, The White Knight Syndrome is a much-needed and well-executed guide to understanding and resolving the white knight syndrome in yourself.