Traces the author's experiences as a child born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, describing her participation in her family's paranoid stockpiling activities and her resolve to educate herself well enough to earn acceptance into a prestigious university and the unfamiliar world beyond.

A guide for parents of college-bound students cites the emergence of mood disorders and other mental-health challenges in mid to late adolescence, sharing counsel on typical versus atypical mental health and what behaviors necessitate intervention.