Katie photo © Drew Herron
Background photo © Kalvis Kalsers

Lost in the Hills is the first published excerpt from Katie’s diary. From the Journal of Katie McCabe was added to the beginning of Nowhere Feels Like Home as an excerpt from Katie’s diary to help bring any new readers who hadn’t read Misfit McCabe up to speed. Lost in the Hills is an expansion of the original journal entry.

The inclusion of the piece in Diary of a Misfit was an easy decision to make—it was the reason I knew Katie kept a diary. And I have always been ambivalent about it as a part of Nowhere Feels Like Home, not because I didn’t like it, but I am not a fan of prologues. I had woven in the information into the opening chapter of Nowhere Feels Like Home and it felt redundant to tack the diary excerpt to the beginning. But I have people I trust to guide me when I become confused about what should or should not be in the work. And they voted for it to stay, and since I was on the fence—it stayed. We all need a little outside objectivity from time to time. 🙂

The expansion includes more of Katie’s feelings about being abducted, nearly drowning, and trying to get home against some steep odds. Teaser: After moving in with her Uncle Charley, and cousins, Matt, Mark, and Sarah, Katie McCabe is excited to finally have her journal unpacked. So much has happened in the week since she’d left home, she doesn’t know where to start.

Diary of a Misfit is available now for Kindle. A portion of the proceeds from Diary of a Misfit will go to the Shaka Franklin Foundation for Youth.