The book shares what it was like from a teenager's perspective to lose a sister and best friend to domestic violence and how the memory of her death dominated her life experiences afterward. The book demonstrates the love between two sisters and highlights the difficult journey returning to school as a normal student when nothing left was normal. School became a perpetual prison accompanied by unscripted humiliation because everyone knew what had happened to her family that tragic morning. The author agonized over what to wear to school. She asked herself whether she should wear something subdued so she wouldn't be noticed, or should she wear something trendy so students and teachers would notice her attire and not her. She wanted to talk to her mother about things she had on her mind like she used to, but the author decided against it upon realizing that her mother's loss was much greater than her own. She loved both her parents, although her dad had a Jekyll and Hyde personality. The secret of why the personality was split is revealed at the tail end of the book.