I Have a Secret

A bad thing happened to the child in this book. If you are a child who has had a bad thing happen to you, you might see yourself in his story. This is why he is sharing his story.
If you are a child who has not had a bad thing happen that you had to keep secret, I am glad. You should know that reading this book could still be difficult.

As the author of this book, I want to apologize if this book makes you feel sad. I also want to apologize if this book makes you remember something that happened to you that you would rather forget or not think about. I want to apologize if this book makes you feel angry. Those are not fun things to feel or think about.
I do believe that those feelings and thoughts are important. Stories of pain are important. Stories where bad things happen are important to read because bad things do happen, and I believe that if more stories about people who had bad things happen to them are told, those bad things will happen less.
Thank you for reading. If after reading this introduction you have decided you do not want to read this book, I more than understand. You are not being a coward, you are taking care of yourself, and no one knows what you need better than you, and don't let me or anyone else tell you otherwise.

Andrew Barnett, LCMHC is a child therapist from Asheville, North Carolina, specializing in providing play therapy for children all of ages, and who has carried more secrets in this life than he would have preferred. He is grateful for the people he knows and loves who have listened to and been able to support him with the things he has felt he had to remain silent about.

Andrea Fietta is an artist who lives and works in Uspallata, Argentina. To check out more of Andrea's work, you can find her on Instagram at the handle andrea.fietta. Andrea can also be reached at andreamfietta@hotmail.com.