First published 2025
April locks herself in the bathroom, plugs in her headphones, and whispers "dead inside" while her daughter plays outside. She lives in a Philadelphia house full of family secrets and shouting matches. The rage she calls "the white hot" builds inside her until a voice tells her to walk away. She goes to the bus station and buys a ticket to the farthest destination. The bus takes her from Philadelphia to wilderness where she begins a journey that nearly kills her. Ten days stretch into ten years of absence. April writes a letter to the daughter she left behind. She explains her choice but offers no apology. Her spiritual and physical quest through pain and absurdity becomes the key to breaking free from family trauma that has trapped multiple generations.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, adult-fiction, psychological-thriller, family-drama
Vibes: emotionally-raw, haunting, introspective, lyrical, transformative
Tropes: breaking-cycles, journey-of-self, letter-to-loved-one, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Philadelphia, Bus Station, Wilderness
Period: Contemporary
176 pages · Hardcover · One World
Content warnings: emotional-abuse, mental-illness