A World Alone

Book excerpt: Three years after his best friend Patrick was found hanging in his bedroom, Adam still can’t let go. Believing there’s a hidden message behind Patrick’s cryptic suicide note, he writes to ease his guilt and finally reveal what he knows. In his book, A World Alone, Adam attempts to solve the mystery of his best friend’s death by revealing the secrets of the people from his past, including his own. Born to a middle-class family in a country like the Philippines, Adam knows there’s no greater shame than admitting you’re depressed. After spending six months in a psychiatric ward, he attends public school for the first time. But just when Adam believed things were finally looking up for him, fate makes other plans. What happens after is an unpredictable ride down the rabbit hole, filled with humor, mystery, and like most teenage love stories, heartbreak.