Bailey isn’t home this time. It’s only Kat, Mom, and Dad here. And Dad is hitting Mom again. He’s growing more violent, and Kat needs to stand up and help her. But when Kat visits the school counselor and tries to call the police, the counselor tells her what she already knows—that calling them might only make things worse. So what is she supposed to do?

Meanwhile, her brother, Bailey, is off at college, hoping to heal away from home. He can feel the traces of his father streaming through his veins, especially when he finds his best friend hitting his girlfriend, Jasmine. And now that she and Jack are broken up, Jasmine is veering closer to Bailey. With the damage he knows he’s capable of, though, he can’t let her get any closer.

But tragedy is just waiting to strike.

Kat’s best friend is killed, Mom is beaten to the point of hospitalization, and Bailey must come home and go toe to toe with his father, and himself. Kat and Bailey must rely on each other and their budding friendships to gain the confidence to forge their own paths outside of the damper of their family home. Our Journey Is Our Own is a heartstring-pulling coming of age novel that expertly approaches complex themes of domestic abuse, identity, teen grief, and mental health while offering hope to those who feel hopeless.