16.21: Helaina Hovitz / After 9/11

“I remember waking up the next morning, there was blue paint all over my nurse’s costume, there were chicken nuggets on the terrace…” —Helaina on the makings of a memorable rock bottom. Helaina Hovitz was 12-years-old and in middle school three blocks from the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. Her memoir encapsulates the journey of a girl growing up with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after living through the events of 9/11 firsthand, chronicling its effects on a young girl at the outset of adolescence and following her as she spirals into addiction and rebellion, through loss, chaos, and confusion. It would take Helaina more than a decade to overcome the PTSD—and subsequent alcohol addiction—that went misdiagnosed and mistreated for so many years. Visit http://HelainaHovitz.com/ for more.