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"A must read that will change your life."
- James R. Doty, New York Times Bestselling Author
"It's a novel that's as riveting as it is inspiring."
- Gabe Vincent, Miami Heat Guard
"It reminds us that the power of the human spirit is both resilient and transformational."
- Linda Small, Executive Director George Lopez Foundation
"A brilliant, emerging young voice is on full display."
- Miles Burris, Actor & former Raiders linebacker
How do you believe in the light when all you’ve seen, known and felt is the dark?
Big dreams aren’t common in the small everytown of Darling, Colorado, but fifteen-year-old Phoenix Iver doesn’t seem to believe in much of anything. As a tortured young soul with crippling, episodes of social anxiety and depression, Phoenix believes he is completely alone in this confusing world. As a result of these chronic, frightening visions, Phoenix leans heavily on his father, local police officer Herman, for comfort. Although, with a past and present both equally cloaked in mystery, Phoenix’s understanding of who his father truly is remains unclear. But the one thing Phoenix does surely know about Herman is that he believes. He believes that the good always wins. He believes that the light will always prevail. He believes that we are all connected in life, and somehow, he also believes that we are connected in what comes after life.
Then, on the brink of finally discovering the answers to the origins of his dark thoughts and the secrets of his father’s past, Phoenix walks into the library at Darling High one stormy, snowy morning in 1999. Trailing just moments behind Phoenix are two students, who, instead of holding books, are holding handguns. Unleashing a torrent of catastrophic magnitude, the once quiet town of Darling becomes the epicenter of the worst school shooting in US history. Lives are lost. And if Phoenix couldn’t believe in the light before, how can he possibly believe in it now?
About the Author
JD Slajchert wrote his debut novel, MoonFlower, during his final two years as a student-athlete at the University of California, Santa Barbara. When tragedy struck and he lost his biggest fan Luc Bodden to Sickle Cell Disease, he knew he needed to preserve Luc's spirit and honor his memory by writing his first book.
Since then, JD has stepped fully into the world of fiction writing with his first entirely original short story Joining the Choir Invisible, and now his second novel "Darling, You're Not Alone."
JD credits his writing inspiration to many authors of the lauded Lost Generation, and has aspirations of one day living in Paris himself.