Books

Words for when the unthinkable has already happened.

Why these books exist

I didn’t set out to write books about grief and suicide.
I set out to survive them.

When my daughter Kahlia died by suicide in April 2024, the world didn’t just change, it split apart. Writing became the only way I knew to stay upright, to keep breathing, and to keep her present in a world that kept moving without her.

These books are not neat stories about “finding purpose” or “moving on.” They are messy, honest, sometimes brutal accounts of what it means to live with grief, to love someone who struggled, and to speak out in a culture that would rather look away.

Each book has its own role: one is a memoir, one is a hard conversation about suicide and stigma, and one is a novel for young people who feel too much and say too little. But they’re all held together by the same promise:

I will tell the truth, so that someone standing where I stood feels less alone.

  • Scenic landscape with a large body of turquoise water, rolling green hills, and mountains in the background under an overcast sky.

    The Year After Kahlia - A grief memoir that doesn’t flinch.

    A raw, unfiltered account of the first year after losing my 24-year-old daughter, Kahlia, to suicide. This book isn’t about “moving on,” it’s about finding a way to live inside a reality that should never have been yours.

    It’s a story of love that doesn’t end, grief that doesn’t behave, and the relentless courage it takes to get up in a world that keeps going without her.

    Read about the memoir
  • A modern house situated on a hilly green landscape with snow-capped mountains in the background under a cloudy sky.

    Silence: The Truth About Suicide and Those Left Behind - Breaking the myths that keep us quiet.

    This book asks the questions most people avoid:
    Why do so many of us still believe suicide is a choice, a failure, or a shameful secret?
    What actually drives suicidal risk?
    And what happens to the people left holding the blame?

    Silence weaves research, lived experience, and the voices of other bereaved parents to expose the stigma, the bad science, and the systems that fail our kids. It’s not a polite book. It’s a necessary one.
    Learn more about Silence
  • Modern wooden house with a large glass window, set against a mountainous landscape with dry grass and small trees in the foreground.

    Composed Through Chaos - A YA novel about the girl who looks “fine” while falling apart.

    A contemporary YA story following Kahlia, a sixteen-year-old who feels invisible in a house that looks perfect from the outside. By night she writes lyrics no one hears; by day she plays the role everyone expects. When music, friendship, and one boy who actually listens begin to crack the silence, she’s forced to decide whether telling the truth will destroy everything or finally set her free.

    This novel is for the teenagers who feel too much, carry too much, and don’t have the words yet.

    Read about the novel