"More than a stunning debut. It is the announcement of a bold new literary voice"
—Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I’ve listened to your songs all throughout high school. I came to know about you through a friend of mine who would constantly run through the halls singing “Come as You are”. Who would have known that a teenage girl like me would fall in love with your voice. Junior year was a hard year for me. I had the pressure of school, being the only girl in the family, my family, and trying to decide on my future. I knew that you wherent really happy here. Just like I was. That day I slit my wrists I thought about you. I though about what your suicide letter said. I wasn’t going to leave one because unlike you I knew I didn’t matter to no one. No one needed me I was taking up space someone like my cousin could use. She always needed more space than I did. Why couldn’t I be her? Perfect with her perfect body and excellent grades and a high school sweetheart and that perfect smile. Feeling my warm blood drip down my wrist I thought about all of that. I felt warm and you can say I felt happy. I didn’t expect for my childhood friend to brake open the door to the bathroom in my house. The last thing I remember was hearing someone say “you can’t leave!” At that age and in that time I couldn’t comprehend what I felt or what it was that I was experiencing. Later when I woke up in the hospital I was told I was depressed. I didn’t know what that meant. Since that day I’ve struggled with my depression. I can’t really talk to anyone in my family about it because it’s a taboo topic to talk about. I am 22 now and I am starting to see the light. I still listen to your songs and I understand more of what you where singing about. Thank you for writing and singing songs about things I can’t possibly say out loud, but you say all the right things. Thank you so much for that gift of yours.