Hope's Confessions (Spoiler Alert)

I know many of my loyal fans are eagerly awaiting the publication of my memoir Story of Hope. It’s probably the first thing on your mind. But, frustrating though it is, I am no closer to publishing my baby than I was three months ago. I will work on it. But in the meantime here are some teasers to make you even more excited for the book’s eventual publication. Note: these teasers can also be considered spoilers. They don’t ruin the ending but they do reveal some plot points along the way. Some are sobering, some are silly but hey that’s just the nature of the book.

1. Hope cheats on her first boyfriend in the book. Hope and Alex get together in the fifth chapter of the book. Originally, they were set up as friends with benefits but they caught feelings for each other early on especially when Hope became very sick at Alex’s apartment and he sat at her bedside in the hospital for about six hours until her parents arrived. Alex was kind, smart and sweet. But Hope, who had yet to be diagnosed as bipolar, had a manic episode and cheated on him with a guy from the internet. Hope didn’t really understand why she did it at the time. Alex definitely didn’t and he broke up with her which only increased Hope’s guilt and shame regarding this as yet undiagnosed disease.

2. Hope shits her hospital bed. After Hope was hospitalized for vomiting blood (aka internal bleeding) she was admitted to the hospital for several days. Hooked up to a bunch of machines, Hope couldn’t easily get up to use the bathroom so at one point she didn’t make it which meant a change of clothes and complete change of bedding. No book is complete without an embarrassing moment (by the way her dad was sitting right next to her. But hey, at least it wasn’t Alex).

3. Hope dates her best friend’s brother. The second most important character in the book is Hope’s best friend, Derrick. The two are bonded through their inner demons and the struggle of getting through college. Somewhere in their sophomore year Hope and Derrick’s adopted brother express attraction to each other which Derrick claims he is fine with but his actions may suggest otherwise.

4. Hope takes Plan B. Very early in the book Hope is taken advantage of by a Tinder “date”. Although he does not rape her, Hope is worried that she is pregnant anyway because she has a very difficult case of OCD. The only thing she can think of to do is get the morning after pill which she can’t even afford so her best friend Jake has to pay for it. The pill messes with her body and her mind and Hope decides she will never, ever do anything like it again.

5. Hope’s former FWB passes away….from suicide. One of the last surprises in the book is when Hope’s former friends with benefits commits suicide. This occurs after Hope survives her own suicide attempt and dregs up a lot of emotions and questions like ‘why did I survive instead of him’?  Questions which even a book like mine can’t answer.

Hopefully these teasers are enough to pique your interest. The book isn’t out there but someday it will be. I will make sure of that.