Cyndy just escaped the clutches of Straight Inc., an organization claiming to help teenage addicts recover while secretly brainwashing and abusing them. But now she has to return home to her judgmental mother, her edgy friends, and her complete confusion after the horror within Straight Inc. In the second true to life story from Cyndy Etler, We Can’t Be Friends, she explores her life outside the walls of the institution that caused her so much pain and defined much of her young life.
We Can’t Be Friends furthers the story told in The Dead Inside, giving readers a deeper and more thorough understanding of Etler’s childhood, delving into the darkest moments of her young life. Now released from the hell that ensued within the evil institution, Etler begins to grapple with her own personal demons, the confusion of returning to the real world, and ultimately her dependence on the organization that left her emotionally crippled. Now, Etler has to fit into the role of an average teenager while still recovering from abuse and manipulation. Will Cyndy be able to overcome her past, or will her experiences at Straight Inc. cause her to remain isolated from the life she once knew?
Each and every page of We Can’t Be Friends is as equally shocking as it is horrifying. Etler gives a heartbreaking narrative with intense details that kept me fully engaged and flipping the pages for hours upon hours. There were a number of scenes that were so intense and shocking that I audibly gasped; her writing is that compelling and engaging. She continues to defy the norms for stories based on real life, providing true accounts that are sure to be well-perceived by teens struggling with the same abuse, neglect, and chaos that Etler did as a teen. Those who can surpass some of the disturbing yet necessary elements regarding drug use, sexual abuse, and parental neglect are sure to find Cyndy’s story to be motivational and moving.
Cyndy was a victim not only to her family’s abuse and neglect but also to the corruption and wicked methods of manipulation from Straight Inc. Through her accounts, stories, and detailed descriptions of her troubled childhood, Cyndy invites readers to glimpse into her struggles and to ultimately discover hope in the darkest and most troubling of times. With a deep and powerful message, Cyndy Etler returns with another glimpse into her teenage life and her continued story of survival.