Darkness Within: You Can Always Come Out of the Other Side of Your Trauma

The Darkness Within is a memoir of survival and resilience, an unflinching look into the life of a woman named Drew, who was verbally, physically, and covertly sexualized by her own father.

At a young age, Drew began to demonstrate traits of mental illness but did not understand how the abuse was affecting her development. The years and abuse took their toll as she began to question her own self-worth. She went through much of her life protecting the secrets that she held inside of all that she had gone through, wearing a "mask" to hide all of the pain. At thirty years old, Drew was diagnosed with bipolar two disorder, characterized by depressive and hypomanic episodes. Thus began her journey of dealing with the shame and guilt about the events of her past.

The Darkness Within is a memoir filled with raw and unflinching truth. This is a one-of-a-kind account that will make you think about mental health in a different way. Meet Drew...fighting through the darkness to reach the light. Knowing that it's worth the battle.

Drew Paige grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. Graduating from university in 1998, she holds a degree in psychology. Drew has worked as a psychiatric residential coordinator at two mental health facilities, and as a foster care caseworker on the South Side and West Side of Chicago for six years. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two daughters.