We Were Ghosts

The Secret Life of a Survivor

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Tabitha Barret

@ Copyright 2017 Heather Baker

All rights reserved.  Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Cover Design: Marianne Nowicki

For copyright and publishing information, contact Tabitha Barret at her website http://www.tabithabarret.com.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious.  Any similarity to real, living, or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

“There are far too many silent sufferers.  Not because they don't yearn to reach out, but because they've tried and found no one who cares.” - Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway

A Letter to the Reader

This book has been a long time in coming.  I’ve tried to write it many times before, but wasn’t able to find the story.  I had too much pain and anger to funnel it into something resembling a storyline.  After speaking to one of my oldest friends, it suddenly became obvious that this story should be written through the eyes of a teenager.  I gave her my anger, pain, and all the other emotions I had to deal with, but I also gave her something that I didn’t have—hope.

So many people have experienced abuse in different ways.  Regardless of the type of abuse they experienced, they suffered in silence.  I was one of them.  Though this story is largely fictionalized, certain events and the emotions involved have been inspired by own circumstances.  I wanted to turn my experiences into something positive, so I created this story in order to give others hope.

This book is dedicated to the people in my life who have suffered from their own traumatic incidents, as well as those whom I have never met.  We are survivors.  No one can take that away from us.  No one can make us ashamed of that.

I encourage you to read this story and enjoy the ups and the downs, but I hope that you take something away with you.  No one should have to suffer in silence.  All it takes is one person to believe.