Last Second Chance

Author's Note

This is the series I never expected to write, much less publish. Addiction has affected my family in so many ways, none of them good. For so long, it was something we hid, shoved, and kicked behind closed doors. It was a battle I felt alone in. Protecting the people I loved from the judging eyes of the perfect world felt like a full-time job and left very little room for anything else.

But I was fortunate enough to find my way out of the darkness. I found a light in writing, in friendship, and in being able to trust. Van’s head is a hard place to be for me, one I was afraid to venture into. But he wouldn’t leave me alone until I told his story. Without the support and encouragement of so many, I never would’ve finished this book.

Throughout my life, I have learned that there are people in this world, sometimes complete strangers even, who, without doing anything other than being themselves, give you the unspoken permission to share the deepest, darkest parts of yourself. People whose eyes won’t go wide or feet won’t begin to walk backward, whose arms continue reaching out, even when you’ve removed your carefully crafted and polished exterior to expose the ugliest, most gruesome truths that live in your soul.

There are so many paths and decisions and unseen gravitational forces that propel us in all directions every passing moment, compounded by the grand and infinitesimal choices we make every day. But sometimes, the vast elements of the universe align for a brief moment in time leading us to the beating hearts of the ones who will be those people for us.

When that happens, when two creatures find in one another this rare and purely unconditional form of love and patience, and a marrow-deep level of understanding, the kind that accepts mistakes, flaws, and garish, gaping wounds that surpass flesh and bone without apology or remorse or expecting a reward other than the same unyielding acceptance, it can only be the result of one simple gift from the universe, or higher power, or the entity on which we choose to build the foundation of our faith...

A miracle.

I am grateful for my miracles—each and every one of you.

If you haven’t found yours yet, stay strong. It is truly darkest before the dawn.

<3 Caisey