My life was one of those teen angst rom-coms where the ugly high school student transforms herself into the beauty queen. Except there was no cute guy helping me along, no series of makeover shots with fun background music, no scene where I walked into the room and all heads turned to look at me while wind blew through my hair. I was the ugly high school student, and I did transform, but it wasn't all peaches and cream. Bullied so badly in high school that it ruined my life, I spent my senior year in therapy. It was there that I transformed - not just physically, but mentally as well. I wanted a fresh start and going to college across the country was my ticket to that. It was a whole new world, and things were great ... ... and then came the blast from my past. And he didn't recognize me. What was a girl to do? Revenge, of course! My plan was to make him fall for me and then break his heart. Sounds simple, right? Wrong. If only revenge was black and white ... too bad a lot of gray was in the mix. But one thing was for sure - I needed a way to heal the scars from my past. I just hoped I could.

From a writer whose work has been called “breathtaking and dazzling” by Roxane Gay, this moving, illuminating, and multifaceted memoir explores, in a series of essays, the emotional scars we carry when dealing with mental and physical illnesses—reminiscent of The Collected Schizophrenias and An Unquiet Mind. In this stunning debut, Laura Lee weaves unforgettable and eye-opening essays on a variety of taboo topics. In “History of Scars” and “Aluminum’s Erosions,” Laura dives head-first into heavier themes revolving around intimacy, sexuality, trauma, mental illness, and the passage of time. In “Poetry of the World,” Laura shifts and addresses the grief she feels by being geographically distant from her mother whom, after being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, is relocated to a nursing home in Korea. Through the vivid imagery of mountain climbing, cooking, studying writing, and growing up Korean American, Lee explores the legacy of trauma on a young queer child of immigrants as she reconciles the disparate pieces of existence that make her whole. By tapping into her own personal, emotional, and psychological struggles in these powerful and relatable essays, Lee encourages all of us to not be afraid to face our own hardships and inner truths.

The gods won't let her forget the past... Alia is a merchant with a dark secret— A scar she's desperate to put behind her. With her business partner's stall positioned in one of the most celebrated festivals in the city of the gods, she has a chance of finally earning enough money to start her own caravan and forget her time as an undercover agent. But not everyone likes the gods, and mage-hating extremists plot to destroy the city— And its innocent inhabitants. When a goddess requests Alia's help in rooting out the threat, Alia plans to pass the job to the city guard. She's no longer a soldier. Still, when she runs into the man responsible for her past scars—and possibly for the current threat—can she afford to stand aside? Investigate the menace to the city of the gods... Read The Scars of Her Past today! ~ Each of these Legends of Cirena stories can be read stand-alone: ~ * The Wind Mage of Maijev (Livena) * The Gryphon and the Mountain Bear (Nuaka) * The Restless Sands of Neel (Ro'nor) * The Cursed Halls of Kalecen (Hahven) * The Scars of Her Past (Alia) * The Dragons of the Mist (Zynia) ~ Crossovers (It will help to have read the previous stories involving the featured characters): ~ * The Wind Mage and the Wolf - Features Livena (The Wind Mage of Maijev) and Nuaka (The Gryphon and the Mountain Bear) * The Trial of Bells and Blood - Features Hahven (The Cursed Halls of Kalecen) and Alia (The Scars of Her Past) KEYWORDS: fantasy, epic fantasy, fantasy novella, mages, magical quest, magical journey, fantasy mage adventure, fantasy vigilante, gods and goddesses, pantheon, fantasy deities, mission, journey, sword and sorcery, magic hunted, mage hunted, fantasy deities, fantasy merchant, magic vs technology, mage hunter assassin, unknown magic

In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist Darin Strauss examines the far-reaching consequences of the tragic moment that has shadowed his whole life. In his last month of high school, he was behind the wheel of his dad's Oldsmobile, driving with friends, heading off to play mini-golf. Then: a classmate swerved in front of his car. The collision resulted in her death. With piercing insight and stark prose, Darin Strauss leads us on a deeply personal, immediate, and emotional journey—graduating high school, going away to college, starting his writing career, falling in love with his future wife, becoming a father. Along the way, he takes a hard look at loss and guilt, maturity and accountability, hope and, at last, acceptance. The result is a staggering, uplifting tour de force. Look for special features inside, including an interview with Colum McCann.

Teen girl cuts to cope with memories of sexual abuse

Claire Graham ran away from a tragedy that still haunts her. But when she learns that her sister, Ella, has gone missing, Claire decides to return to Amble, Ohio, and face what happened there. Determined to find Ella, Claire turns to Grant Buchanan, the soft-spoken boy from her past who, like Claire, has secrets he guards closely.

21 surgeries by age 13. Years in the hospital. Verbal and physical bullying from schoolmates. Multiple miscarriages as a young wife. The death of a child. A debilitating progressive disease. Riveting pain. Abandonment. Unwanted divorce... Vaneetha begged God for grace that would deliver her. But God offered something better: his sustaining grace.