Bloodlines

“Yokas connects the dots between various points of generational trauma to examine the ways in which we get caught up in narratives that began before we were born—and the ways in which such narratives can be rewritten. A relatable family story of mental illness and maternal love.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Sharing a raw, honest look at facing and enduring a history of trauma, Bloodlines shows that the road to recovery is paved with acceptance, hope, and love. Yokas’s story, told with power and warmth, will help parents who are navigating mental health crises understand that the chains that bind us up in narratives often were forged long before we were born—and that they can be broken.”—BookLife Reviews, Editor’s Pick

“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, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of Willa’s Grove and founder of Haven Writing Programs

“There is beauty bound up with love and there is, far too often, pain—tangled legacies, terrifying self-doubt, bodies that speak for invisible ache. In her potent, searing memoir, Tracey Yokas tells the story of a family working their way through the dark and toward the light, a family in which love, ultimately, wins.”—Beth Kephart, author of Wife | Daughter | Self: A Memoir in Essays and We Are the Words: The Master Memoir Class

“We hear the harrowing statistics about 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 mental illness: the mom’s story. 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

“Tracey Yokas masterfully and emotionally weaves the tale: a daughter's mental health diagnoses and a mother's quest to support her. Bloodlines is a raw, honest look at the limitations a history of trauma can have on us and our loved ones. A painful and arduous road to recovery—for both mom and daughter—is also a testament to acceptance, hope, and love.” —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 tangled web of illness and trauma.”—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

“In this painful but ultimately luminous memoir of motherhood and intergenerational healing, Tracey Yokas retraces—with unflinching clarity and steadfast devotion—her adolescent daughter’s descent into disordered eating and self-harm. Ultimately, what Yokas discovers in her quest to help her daughter heal through unconditional love and compassion, is that she, too, is worthy of the same. A glorious, intricate, and astutely artistic exploration of the ways in which we live, love, overcome, and sometimes even triumph, not in spite of, but because of, our human fragility and imperfection.”—Jeannine Ouellette, author of The Part That Burns

“A beautiful, powerful, and moving story of a mother’s love for her daughter as they both journey toward healing. The writing is impeccable. The emotion heartfelt and genuine. The topic of dire importance. Get ready to be moved to tears—both happy and sad.”—Debra Thomas, Sarton Award–winning author of Luz