I don't know who needs to hear this, but healing is not a destination; it is a grueling, non-linear process that often feels like two steps forward and three steps into the dark. There are mornings when you will wake up feeling as though the world is crashing down around you, and days when the simple act of leaving your bed feels like a war you aren't equipped to fight.
I wrote this book as a way to navigate the labyrinth of my own healing, pouring the quietest parts of my soul into these pages in the hope that they might serve as a lighthouse for someone else lost at sea. The story of Avery and Jordan is one that I will carry with me forever; it has embedded itself into my very being, a reflection of the messy, jagged reality of how we love and how we break.
Avery is still healing. She is still surviving. But most importantly, she is learning that standing on her own two feet doesn't make her lonely—it makes her unshakable.
Sometimes, we are put through trials that force us to scream at the sky, questioning what we could have possibly done to deserve such profound pain. But I have come to realize that one day, that pain will no longer be a weight. Instead, it will be a testament—a permanent reminder of the fire that forged you into who you are today.
I'm not sure if the road ever gets easier, but I can promise you this: it does get better. As long as you keep walking, the light will find you.
**The Girl That Survived**
*A Note from Bianca Sade*