MOLINE, Ill. — Abigal Lee is just 18-years-old, but she's already a published author. She's spent the past year writing her book, "Embers of Anxiety: A Poetry Collection".
The book is 150 pages of poetry covering topics about anxiety, mental health and assault. Lee is a senior at ROWVA High School, and says she got the idea to write a book one year ago.
"The exact date, March 26, 2021, is when I asked my teacher. I was like, 'Hey, I want to write a book.' And she said, 'Alright let's do it,'" Lee explained.
After that Lee began compiling poetry she had already written as she continued to write new pieces.
"An ember is like the aftermath of a fire, and it can either fade away or not, causing more destruction, it could start another fire. And that's kind of like anxiety in a way. So that's just kind of how I thought of it. And that's why it's called embers of anxiety," Lee said.
Lee herself has struggled with mental health and anxiety. Writing has become an outlet for her to cope.
"It's just been a lot and this has really helped kind of cope with all of it," Lee said.
Her goal was to have her book published before she graduated from school.
"I always wanted to do something extraordinary, something different that nobody else had really done," Lee said. "I knew I wanted to get it done before I graduated, that was my goal."
The process was quick, taking the first few months to write, and getting final edits turned in by last January. From there, she received her first copy of the book on April 1.
"I was with my best friend and we just kind of sat there and just like, stared at them because it was like whoa, this is a real thing," Lee said. "So she got the first copy and I went through and signed them all."
All 27 copies she initially had have been sold and 25 more copies have been preordered.
"We were just speechless, like surreal. It was like I have this thing that I've put my heart and soul into in my hands. It was crazy," Lee said.
Her goal is to connect with others who might have issues with mental health and show them they aren't alone.
"I know I'm not the only person that's experienced those things. And I just want, my main thing is like, I don't want people to feel alone like I had felt," Lee said.