 In a span of four months, one local high school student wrote, illustrated, and had published a children's book, all with a special message for those struggling with mental illness. For this week's Community Spotlight, our Sarah Winkleman takes us to meet the teenager who is inspiring all ages. As Alyssa Vanderhoof walked into Staples Motley for her senior year of high school, she had no idea that a class assignment would soon change not only her life, but also the lives of those around her. They were chosen to write, share their story, write a children's book. She chose to write about mental health. The more strength Aly gave the darkness, the stronger it got. And more specifically, her journey in overcoming depression. It was hard for me to pay attention in school and do my work, and I was always causing trouble. But after a while, she decided enough was enough. And so I went into treatment, and that took me about a year. And once I got out, I was still having troubles. After writing her book titled When the World Goes Dark, became therapeutic through both her writing and her illustrations. I wanted to create the aspect of dark and light to show that the light is the good things and the good things that we often miss, and so that's why in the book she finds that light and eventually it wraps itself around her and kind of embraces the rest of her world. And even though the book ends there, Alyssa's story is far from over. I got responses from all over the United States and people in their 40s telling me that they're super thankful that I shared my story with them because they have never had something that they could connect with that easily. Even though she was hesitant about sharing her story early on. She took a few days to think about it and I encouraged her. I said, this is just a safe place, a safe environment. Share it. It's worth sharing. She now could not be happier with the outcome. I think it's pretty amazing. For a high school senior with not only a bright future, but one that inspires others. Every page she was turning, people were gasping, there was tears, it was silent. With one last reminder to never give up, you are not alone. For this week's community spotlight in Staples, Sarah Winkleman, Lakeland News. Now we have more information available on where you can find and purchase that book on our website at lptv.org slash news. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.