Boys don't have eating disorders. Those are only for vain, teenage girls. Not for Alex. Alex Rivera doesn't know why he started counting calories or why he's addicted to stepping on the scale. He just knows it's what he needs to do. His parents don't understand, and neither does his twin brother - the hotshot player of the school. His little sister doesn't get it. His fucking pet lizard doesn't get it. None of them understand how, a family so happy and so healthy, could've festered this disorder. A disorder that's taken everything from Alex. As the heartbreaking secrets unfold and Alex's disorder is brought under the microscope, the Riveras must find a way to get by, even through the impossibility of Alex's eating disorder, a molestation charge, and the realization that pain isn't always clear-cut and obvious. Told through multiple point of views, The Way We Get By shines a light on the often ignored side of mental health and eating disorders, and it shows that with a little love, humor, and sacrifice, absolutely anything is possible. - - Highest Ranks: |#1| - ednos |#1| - disorder |#1| - mentalillness |#2| - eating |#3| - recovery

Life doesn't abide by the rules of a child. Sixteen-year-old Ramona knows this. She's seen it throughout her entire life, from the way she was treated by her birth parents to the way she was thrown around the foster system with nothing but her little brother, Mason, to hold onto. Every bruised cheek and broken bone has slowly shattered Ramona's trust in the system and any foster parent she's ever met. In the end, it's only Mason she can trust. Her life is dedicated to making his better, and focused solely on sheltering him from the pain of feeling as lonely as she is. That is, until Ramona gets news one day that may just uproot everything she's ever believed about her and Mason's situation. Everything is about change for Mason, all because of a man named Owen Parker. He wants to take the only thing that Ramona has ever truly loved. He wants to adopt her brother, and there is nothing she can do to stop him. Though after years of running and years of pain, Ramona knows just how badly Mason needs a home. It's a breath of fresh air for him, a family filled with love, and everything that Mason has never had. But then, what about Ramona? She's brotherless, parentless, and alone in a city that has never cared about her. She has to find a way to cope, and she has to find a way to forgive the man who took her little boy from her. But she can't cope, she can't forgive, and she can only bend so many times before she breaks. - - Warning: This story deals with mature content that may be difficult for some to read, such as self-harm, suicide, drug use, abuse, depression, anxiety, and sexual harassment. - - Highest Ranks: |#1| - adopted |#1| - fosterkid |#1| - fostercare |#1| - foster |#1| - suicideawareness |#1| - recovery |#1| - comingofage |#1| - mentalillness |#1| - strength |#2| - adoption