The Alison Hayes Journey

When Alison Hayes walks into her storm-darkened trailer the afternoon of her 16th birthday, she has no idea that it will be the beginning of a year like no other. Her mother has lost her job again, the most stable man they've ever had in their lives is looking for the nearest exit, and her best friend is dating the prom queen. She can't remember the last time anything good had happened to her. If the rails still passed through town, she would definitely be on the wrong side, always looking across to everyone else.

When Alison Hayes finds herself suddenly set free in the world to build her life out of the crumbled ruins of her childhood, she must come to terms with her own demons before she can make her way out of the chaos left by her mother's life. Were people right to think she would follow the same road her mother traveled, or would Alison be able to forge a new path? Is she destined to repeat the mistakes of her mother, or is she free to make choices for a better way? When there are opportunities to make good choices, how will she ever know which choice is right?

Alison Hayes is set to fly or flee. When she follows her friend, Cici, to California she hopes it will be the beginning of a new, perfect life. She has spent her days trying to do something better, trying not to repeat the mistakes made by her alcoholic and broken mother. Yet, she is haunted by the only "right thing" she has ever done being the one thing she couldn't keep.

Alison Hayes is antsy - that’s what her mother would have said. The ghosts from her past are walking, and something is coming. For 10 years, she has stayed on the fringe of society, living a quiet, nearly invisible life, working nights as a nurse at the hospital and sleeping days. When her volunteer work at the Crisis Clinic sets her on a collision course with a pregnant teen, Alison finds herself plunging without a parachute. She must reconcile her own history as her obsession with the girl mounts.