Michelle stood on the brink of disaster and the only person capable of bringing her back from the edge…was herself. From the time she was five years old, when she witnessed the near-death experience of her sister, her world was shaped by trauma. Her mother’s struggle with mental illness, her parents’ divorce, and the sexual assault that echoed through every relationship she formed left scars in her wake.

Stretched follows Michelle’s true story through the long aftermath of trauma, and how early abandonment and violence seep into identity, self-worth, and the choices she made. Her memoir depicts how hope can thrive in the face of incredible hardship and how pain can be transformed into resilience. Michelle’s writing is strong, it is candid, and she doesn’t hold anything back as she learns to finally reclaim her voice.