ABSTRACT
It is one o’clock in the afternoon. Alex is deep asleep under the covers. For him, there is no distinction between day and night, sunlight and darkness; the darkness prevails no matter what the time of day. Alex is a patient in a residential center for emotionally disturbed adolescents. At 15 years of age, his life is a map of failed connections, broken relationships, and traumatic attachments. The confusion, rage, and sense of hopelessness that pervade Alex’s inner world are practically incomprehensible to most young people his age. The usual developmental tasks of adolescence are not something Alex can even begin to attend to as he battles the emotional upheaval of each day. His feelings of isolation are profound, even as he resides within a community of other adolescents who are grappling with the same darkness of a life not being lived. Asleep under the covers, Alex can forget for a while the painful reminders that waking may bring. The last thing that Alex can imagine is an experience that would make him want to face the day.
