Sleep like Starfish chronicles how a couch-surfing, disassociated teenage high school dropout with debilitating chronic illness, a constant loop of intrusive thoughts, and a haunting abandonment wound goes on to marry an underage musician with a fake ID and become a loving, responsible mother of two who graduates from college with high honors. Rachelle Atkins not only examines the way childhood traumas manifest in the physical body, but also how a child who feels like "a body with no skin" can become a woman who lives with a middle-finger faith, believing that she is seen and held by something bigger than her tiny human self, even when her anxiety rumbles and her body acts like a traitor. Holding the tension between the bad that was and the good that is and can be, this memoir is a turnabout tale of discovering self-worth and learning to heal a dysregulated nervous system by coming to terms with a traumatic past, imparting levity whenever possible, and cultivating a deep sense of belief. " Sleep like Starfish is a fascinating excavation of the intricacies of love and trauma and how they intersect. This book is gripping, heartbreaking, and uplifting. Shel Atkins is a tireless researcher and an astute observer of life. If you've ever felt broken or lost-"like a body with no skin"-you'll find yourself in the pages of this very honest memoir. -Judy Goldman, author of Child: A Memoir "How do you cope with a life of trauma, both from the inside out and the outside in? If you're Shel Atkins, you do it with grit and faith and humor. Sleep like Starfish will feel sharp and true to anyone who has spent any time in life's wringer-which is to say everyone." -Tommy Tomlinson, author of Elephant in the Room , Dogland, and host of the Southbound podcast "Shel Atkins has a story to tell, and she does so with wisdom, grace, and heart in Sleep like Starfish . Through the lens of her experience, Atkins illuminates the journey to healing, peace, and joy. What an emotionally generous, profound, and beautiful human story!" -Allison Hong Merrill, author of Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops Rachelle Atkins received a BA in creative writing from Queens University in Charlotte, NC, and is a member of Charlotte Lit, NC Writers' Network, and Charlotte Writers Club. She lives in Charlotte with her musician hubby, Jason, and hound dogs Pearl and Bernice. When not working her day job in residential construction or tagging along with her husband to gigs, you can find this empty nester stalking her daughter, Avis, in Asheville, or her son, Brady, in Wilmington.