At 13, Cyndy was homeless. At 14, she was locked up. At 15, she was suicidal. At 30, she was teaching tough teens at an alternative school.

Today Cyndy is a young adult author. Honest and raw, her memoirs bring readers into the life of a kid who will do anything to feel accepted. When she’s not writing, Cyndy is coaching teens. With humor and non-judgement, she helps kids figure out what they most want, and how to get it.

Cyndy holds a Master’s degree in Secondary Education and a Bachelor’s degree in English and American Studies from the University of Massachusetts Boston. She is a Certified Youth Life Coach via Youth Coaching Institute, and a licensed English, Special Education and English as a Second Language teacher.

Cyndy’s debut memoir, The Dead Inside, was published by Sourcebooks Fire in April 2017. The sequel, We Can’t Be Friends, will be published in October of 2017. After years of hopscotching across the country, Etler now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband and her dogs.