Tracey Yokas had everything she wanted: a loving husband and a beautiful daughter. Life looked perfect. So why was she unhappy?

Tracey’s perfect-looking façade crumbled when thirteen-year-old Amelia was diagnosed with depression and an eating disorder. When Tracey discovered blood around the house, she realized that Amelia was cutting herself. Desperate, she and her husband did everything they could to help Amelia get better—to no avail. As her daughter spiraled out of control, Tracey was confronted with heartbreak she’d never imagined possible, as well as the realization that the system that was supposed to help her daughter was horribly flawed.

This descent into darkness and fear for her daughter’s life led Tracey, one painful step at a time, to peel back the layers of armor she’d spent years collecting. She had to reevaluate her values and confront her beliefs, habits, and patterns. In short, she had to lead by example—had to learn how to care, truly care, about herself in order to teach Amelia to do the same. In the end, the key to helping her daughter was first helping herself.

“This book will help parents who are navigating their child’s mental health crisis know that they’re not alone . . . but it also illuminates this fact: no matter what is breaking your heart, sometimes the best place to look for answers is inside yourself. Tracey Yokas shows us how.”
—Laura Munson, best-selling author and founder of Haven Writing Programs

“We hear the harrowing statistics about a generation of kids with sky-high rates of anxiety and depression and the tendency to self-harm, and we immediately want to do something to help these children—but in our rush to empathize, we often forget the other part of the story of mental illness: the mom's story. What is it like to be the mom? What is it like to love someone in so much pain, and to parent them through it? In this unflinching memoir, Tracey Yokas gives us that tale. It is a story filled with pain and with hope, told with generosity and love.”
—Jennie Nash, founder and CEO of Author Accelerator

“An honest, raw, and emotional look at a family nearly torn apart dealing with a child's mental illness. Told from a mother’s point of view, Bloodlines takes readers on the harrowing journey she faced while doing everything in her power to help her daughter. This memoir of an arduous, painful road to recovery is also one of acceptance, love, and hope.”
—Jeni Driscoll, author of the mental health blog Peace from Panic

“In her journey to examine and understand the emotional scars handed down from her family experience, Tracey Yokas finds her truth and her voice. We witness the beautiful unfolding of powerful insight, courage, and wisdom. Tracey becomes a warrior to free her daughter, herself, and her family from a seemingly endless nightmare.”
—F.D. Raphael, author of The Rock Stars of Neuroscience and founder of MindfulnessbyFaithe.com.

“A powerfully honest, riveting, and stigma-busting peek into the oft-hidden shadow world of self-harm that shines with Yokas’s hope and determination to find a path to healing for her daughter, and herself.”
—Lauri Taylor, author of The Accidental Truth: What My Mother's Murder Investigation Taught Me About Life