Still Here: Letters on Suicide Loss, Trauma, and Choosing to Stay

"How are you still alive?" When a therapist asked twenty-six-year-old Misty Dawn this question, she didn't have an answer. She was heavily medicated, drowning in silence, and carrying the crushing weight of her father's suicide. The therapist told her to write a book. Instead, she spent the next twenty years just trying to survive. Written as thirteen raw, unfiltered letters over twelve days leading up to the twenty-second anniversary of her father's death, Still Here is the answer she finally found the courage to write. This is not a clean, neatly packaged story of overnight redemption. It is a fearless descent into the darker corners of grief and survival that traditional memoirs often leave in the shadows. With unwavering honesty, Misty Dawn unpacks: - The Burden of Silence: Navigating toxic family dynamics and the unwritten rule never to speak about the abuse.- The Anatomy of Trauma: A deeply personal look at childhood abuse, assault, severe dissociation, and navigating the mental health system.- Invisible Harm: Surrounding herself with destructive relationships that hurt without leaving a physical bruise.- The Fight to Stay: The exhausting, daily effort of pretending to be functional when you aren't sure you will survive the morning. Perfect for fans of Stephanie Foo's What My Bones Know and Carmen Maria Machado's In the Dream House, Still Here is a lifeline for survivors, witnesses, and anyone who has ever felt too broken to heal. It is a devastating yet deeply validating exploration of trauma, suicide loss, and the ultimate, defiant choice to stay. Scroll up and click "Buy Now" to read a story of radical honesty and survival today.