I AM NOT ALONE

A kind, loving, undocumented teen in New York struggling with mental illness is accused of a terrible crime and isn’t sure if he’s innocent.

Eighteen-year-old Alberto works hard—earning money as a painter that he sends back to family in Mexico, studying for his high school equivalency certificate, and helping the older sister he lives with care for her baby—all while pursuing his passion for pottery. But he worries about his deteriorating mental health: An aggressive, insulting voice in his head has begun urging him to engage in uncharacteristic violence. Jewish high school senior Grace is at the top of her class. Although she’s planning to attend Princeton and become a doctor, Grace has been questioning everything since her parents’ divorce. She’s drawn to Alberto from the day they meet, and when tragedy strikes and Alberto is accused of killing an elderly client and goes on the run, the pair struggle to figure out what really happened. Alberto’s suspected schizophrenia makes him heartbreakingly susceptible to both the best and worst of humanity; he encounters those who cruelly take advantage of his mental state but experiences extraordinary kindness from Grace’s formerly estranged family members and their rabbi. Told in the teens’ alternating perspectives, the narrative poignantly conveys how compassion and a willingness to overcome the perceived stigma of severe mental illness, together with the appropriate medical attention, can make all the difference.

An illuminatingly powerful story about mental illness, young love, faith, and hope.