A knife pressed against my stomach, in the home I grew up in. The person holding it was supposed to be like a brother to me. I guess blood doesn't always mean that you're family.

With one suitcase, no money, and no clear plan, I left Indiana -- hoping to find a new beginning in Arizona with a girl I met online. I wasn't chasing adventure or some perfect version of life. I just wanted a fresh start. A way out of the chaos, abuse, and betrayal that had shaped the life around me for 24 years of my life.

Sometimes we shut our minds off and go on autopilot. Maybe it comes from unaddressed trauma we've carried for too long. It can lead us to make choices that seem irrational to anyone on the outside looking in. Chasing that fresh start made me realize -- you can't outrun the past.

Keep Going: Raised in Shadows, Chasing the Light is a true, gritty, and introspective memoir about trying to find peace in a world that never gave it to you. It's about jumping into a toxic relationship and realizing you can't go back home -- because the people who raised you have thrown away your things and turned their backs on you.

It's about keeping your head above water when the ocean of love turns cold. About dodging insults and punches, followed by your stuff being ejected from the apartment at 3 a.m. -- and you're 1,500 miles away from the place you once called home. About navigating homelessness, heartbreak, addiction, grief, and that quiet battle in your head when no one feels safe and nowhere feels like home.

But more than anything, it's about how you respond when you hit rock bottom. It's not only about chasing the light -- but becoming the light. Bringing up the darkest parts of your life and facing them head-on with the light you hold. Healing isn't linear, and it's never instant -- but another day is another opportunity to make it better.

The light you're looking for might just be the one inside you. Keep going.

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• Teen & Young AdultPersonal HealthDepression
• Teen & Young AdultSocial Issues

• Publication Date: March 27, 2025
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 271 Pages
• File Size: 19 KB