She looked happy on the outside.
Inside, she was holding her breath.

In this bold, intimate memoir, Nicole Morrison takes readers through the tracks of a life built on contradiction: joy and loneliness, belonging and invisibility, resilience and exhaustion. Raised in the Midwest and shaped by identity struggles, unspoken trauma, chronic pain, motherhood, faith, shame, and the weight of always being "the strong one," Nicole learned early how to hide what hurt—and smile through the ache.

Told in a mixtape structure with poetic, broken-line storytelling, Growing Up Happy in a Lonely World reveals the quiet battles high-functioning people fight, the beliefs we inherit without realizing it, and the moments that finally bring us home to ourselves. Each track is paired with reflection questions and a hand-picked playlist, turning this memoir into an immersive emotional experience—one that invites you to listen, pause, breathe, and see your own story in the cracks.

Inside this memoir, readers will find:

a deeply honest portrait of growing up LGBTQ+ without language or safety
raw, rhythmic chapters that move like songs, each marking a pivotal moment
a powerful story of breaking cycles, healing trauma, and reclaiming voice
reflections on faith, identity, resilience, motherhood, guilt, and becoming
hope for anyone who has ever looked "fine" while carrying more than they can name

For readers of Glennon Doyle, Jeannette Walls, Ashley C. Ford, and Maggie Smith—and for anyone who believes the stories we avoid are often the ones that save us.

This isn't a memoir about perfection.
It's a memoir about becoming.
About choosing truth over approval.
About finding your way back to yourself.

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