Teens' gritty stories aim to help peers cope

Some of the details in the stories are so raw it's hard to turn the page – let alone share with an audience.

A group of Scriber Lake High School students took that plunge and published a collection of their nonfiction stories in the book, “We Are Absolutely Not Okay: Fourteen Stories By Teenagers Who Are Picking Up the Pieces.”

The true stories cover heavy topics including cutting, drug addiction and sexual identity issues. The purpose of bringing these topics to the surface is two-fold: to show adults what teenagers are grappling with, and to show struggling teenagers they're not alone.

It's frustrating when adults claim they understand a situation they've never experienced, said Jordan Meador, 18. Meador wrote about coping with her father leaving by cutting herself. It's especially effective when a message comes from someone who's been there.

“I hope they realize they're not alone and (other) people are going through it too,” she said.

The stories show how students grabbed control of their emotions, developed healthier coping methods and accepted accountability for their actions to heal and move forward.

“It's not really worth it to hurt yourself over what other people say about you,” said Lauren Nein, 18, who wrote about overcoming depression and cutting.

The emotions associated with sharing personal stories with a wide audience are crashing on Nein in waves.

“It's exciting,” she said. “It's a lot easier to share than I thought it'd be.”

Jeanette Figueroa, 17, mulled suicide to cope with her mother's sickness. Her mother has since recovered, and Figueroa realized that if she had gone through with it, her mother would be alone.

“At one point I thought suicide was the solution to take the pain away,” she said. “People think it can solve problems – it doesn't.”

Both Figueroa and Nein have realized writing down their feelings is a healthier way to cope.

“It's a good way to express yourself and get the gross emotions out,” Nein said.

The students celebrated a book launch June 6 at Revelations Yogurt in Edmonds, where they distributed signed copies. The self-published collection is available as an e-book and paperback on Amazon.com. All proceeds go to fund future writing programs at Scriber Lake High School.

What began as an English assignment to write about a personal event evolved into a four-day workshop and this book.

Earlier this year, English teacher Marjie Bowker and Seattle author Ingrid Ricks collaborated to show Bowker's students how to turn a negative experience into a positive by writing about their struggles. Ricks wrote the memoir, “Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story,” which chronicled her tumultuous childhood with an abusive stepfather and her flighty, felon father. They incorporated Ricks' book into the curriculum to show students they can validate their experiences and empower themselves by telling their stories.

The students' stories are gritty and their personal notes at the end are a message to the reader, Ricks said.

Hearing Ricks' story inspired the students to have the courage to share their stories to help others, Bowker said.

“We really emphasized they could tell their stories when they were ready to tell them,” she said. “We weren't trying to squeeze them out; but when they started, it snowballed.”

The writing process proved therapeutic for Neal Tingley, 17. He wrote about his abusive relationship with his father and what it's like growing up without a father figure.

“Writing can express any emotion you want in any way and define it in an intricate way,” Tingley said.

He hopes the book can help people in a positive way.

“Everyone has emotions every day. It's how they deal with them accordingly,” he said.