Sticks and stones will break my bones but these words may damn near kill me.

Sana’s been summoned, abducted, and mind-melted. Or at least, it’s a possibility, it’s hard to know. There are only three things she knows for certain: she woke up in a strange place with magical time travelling powers, she’s stuck with a goody-goody boss she literally can’t ignore in a job she has no idea how to do, and a single choice has the power to change everything.

Ember shouldn’t have anxiety. She should be fine. She has everything she’s ever wanted: a house, a good relationship, a good job. She has everything perfectly under control. That is, until a chain of inexplicable panic attacks threatens to unravel her carefully curated plan. Now, to save the life she’s built, Ember has to say the one word she just can’t seem to get out—help.

Amelia says the words easily; can you please help. The question rolls right off her tongue without hesitation. When the answer is cold and angry, she’s too young to understand why. Ten years later, she knows—one question awakened a storm hellbent on taking her out.

Told through interwoven perspectives, this narrative showcases the complexities of behavioral patterns and circumstance, and challenges the position of blame, choice, and responsibility in the face of adversity.

Raised offers an honest and visceral portrait of resilience and reclamation.