The fate of all life on Earth depends on a girl who doesn’t know if she wants to live.
Trade Paper Back Hits Stores on 6/4
About A Haunted Girl
The Story...
A HAUNTED GIRL, from Syzygy Publishing and Image Comics, is a supernatural horror series that explores the real-life terror that comes with the struggles of anxiety and depression.
Written by Ethan and Naomi Sacks and illustrated by Marco Lorenzana, the supernatural horror tale chronicles the story of Cleo, a 16-year-old adopted Japanese-American whose anxiety and depression drive her to suicidal thoughts, is fresh out of the hospital and trying unsuccessfully to reintegrate back into her old life.
What she doesn’t know is that her real struggles are just beginning as she finds herself encountering an increasingly terrifying succession of ghosts. Is she losing her grip on reality...or is the explanation much, much worse?
The story behind the story may be even more gripping: A HAUNTED GIRL is inspired by Naomi's real-life mental health struggles, with the goal of inspiring others fighting similar battles.
This special trade paperback edition collects the acclaimed comic series and includes help guides from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation.
The Story Behind the Story
The original idea for this story came to me in a hospital cafeteria, waiting between visiting hours to see my daughter who was in the pediatric psychiatric ward upstairs, four years ago. At the time, my daughter had just been diagnosed with major depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.
It was at this beginning of our mental health journey as a family, that I came up with a tale that could inspire her and other teens with similar struggles . A tale that featured a protagonist that channels that fear, but ultimately overcomes it.
Four years later, my daughter has made tremendous progress and reached a place where she could co-write that story with myself and our artistic partner, the incredibly talented Marco Lorenzana.The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation provided sensitivity readings and resource guides in the back of the book.
Our shared goal is to have this story be an entertaining horror story for everyone to enjoy, and to also be a deeper, inspirational tale for anyone going through similar struggles.
- ETHAN SACKS