A Flower in a Field

Preface

If you are choosing to read this story, then you must make it clear to yourself that this is not just a story; it is a tale of my sophomore experience in high school told through the lens of creative writing and sloppy memories.

Although this is my story, it did not necessarily happen to me, seeing as I am not the main character, but rather a third party in the situation more than anything.

This tale will be told in chronological order (to the best of my ability) but it's important to note that I did not know about most of the things that were happening to the main character, Avery, in this novel until much later on. In essence, I am taking the fragmented pieces of her memories that she is able to articulate to me, and forming an entire detailed book around it.

It is important to understand that this book is by no means for the faint of heart. It deals with self-harm, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and suicide in a very direct and vivid way. The reason I wrote about all of these things is because of how extremely important it is to understand them, not only for the sake of the story, but also just in general life.

I was fifteen when this happened, and I can assure you that while parts of the story may not have occurred in this exact order, they did in fact happen. Every single part.

Again, this is not necessarily my story. But if something like this can happen to someone like me (a mentally stable, sheltered, loved, white, intelligent suburban girl), then I am almost one hundred percent certain that this is someone else's story too.

- Leah Erin Ascher