Born Wild, Raised by Ghosts is a raw and tender memoir about childhood shaped by love and loss, and the quiet resilience it takes to survive emotional neglect, family fracture, and grief.

Growing up in the American Southwest, Kye's early life is marked by movement between homes, states, and emotional landscapes she is too young to understand but forced to navigate anyway. She is a wild child raised among dirt roads and wide skies, learning early how to stay small, self sufficient, and unseen. When her father begins to disappear into addiction, her mother works tirelessly to hold everything together, and the family structure she depends on starts to crack.

At the heart of the story is Dee, Kye's parent, who later transitions and becomes her emotional anchor. Dee offers unconditional love in a life where stability is rare, and her presence becomes a lifeline through years of upheaval. When illness and loss arrive, grief settles deep and permanent, shaping how Kye understands love, identity, and survival.

This memoir traces a journey through parentification, emotional abandonment, and early trauma, but it is not a story of bitterness. It is a story of endurance. Of a child who learns how to read silence, who grows up too soon, and who carries grief quietly while still finding moments of joy, humor, and connection.

Born Wild, Raised by Ghosts is also a story of becoming, of learning to trust love again, of building chosen family, and of reclaiming one's voice after years of being overlooked. Through honest reflection and lyrical prose, Kye explores what it means to carry the past without being defined by it.

This memoir will resonate with readers who have felt invisible within their own families, who have navigated complex parental relationships, or who are drawn to intimate, character driven stories of healing and self discovery.