Cyndy Etler

An intense story of survival from a substance abuse program that left more scars than it healed After Cyndy fights off her stepfather's sexual advances, she escapes from the violence of her home. But she's reported as a runaway, and Cyndy soon finds herself in a drug rehab facility that changes her world. She's sent to Straight, Inc. To the public, Straight, Inc. was a place of recovery. But behind closed doors, it's something else entirely, using sleep deprivation, physical abuse, and brainwashing as methods of treatment in a cramped, windowless warehouse. In her memoir, Cyndy recounts the horrific and unforgettable months she spent living this nightmare.

Straightling

When the author is sent to Straight, Inc., a "tough love" program for troubled teens, she is psychologically beaten for months and forced to return to high school with a battered psyche.

We Can't Be Friends

"[An] unnerving and heartrending memoir..."—Publishers Weekly A fast-paced memoir that gives readers a glimpse into the unbelievable reality of a young girl's 16 months in the notorious "tough love" program the ACLU called "a concentration camp for throwaway kids." I never was a badass. Or a slut, a junkie, a stoner, like they told me I was. I was just a kid looking for something good, something that felt like love. I was a wannabe in a Levi's jean jacket. Anybody could see that. Except my mother. And the professionals at Straight. From the outside, Straight Inc. was a drug rehab. But on the inside it was...well, it was something else. All Cyndy wanted was to be loved and accepted. By age fourteen, she had escaped from her violent home, only to be reported as a runaway and sent to a "drug rehabilitation" facility that changed her world. To the public, Straight Inc. was a place of recovery. But behind closed doors, the program used bizarre and intimidating methods to "treat" its patients. In her raw and fearless memoir, Cyndy Etler recounts her sixteen months in the living nightmare that Straight Inc. considered "healing."

Cyndy Etler

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