My Niece and I just finished Life In Spite of Me, yes it is an intense book with a serious subject matter, but I believed it was important my Niece and I read this book together, because it speaks so openly of one Woman's attempt to end her life (Kristen Jane Anderson) when she was still a child really only seventeen: The book speaks of the fact that that is not an asnwer though, and that Christ has a purpose for our life, and that he loves us! I wanted my thirteen and a half year old niece to be able to hear this story, and I wanted her to see that when things are bad we can always turn to God, and there is no shame in getting help when it is needed .I both read the book to her, and she read parts of it herself, and we discussed what were the good decisons made and what were the bad, I first heard Kristens story on Oprah a few years ago and when she and Tricia Goyer announced they were writing Kristens story together, I knew that this was a book I wanted to read and to share with others, I believe Kristen's story will literally save lives, I know it already has!I work with children and I have a teenage niece, as well as other teenagers in my life, so I felt I should read this book for that reason and because it is simply a story that needs to be told needs to be read, because despite the darkness she went through it speaks so beautifully of how that darkness transformed to light when she opened her heart to Christ.I would recomend this book to anyone really, because it is such a powerful story that speaks so beautifully of how God works in lives...God BlessMichelle~