Untethered

Laura Whitfield was fourteen when her extraordinary brother, Lawrence, died in a mountain climbing accident. That same night she arrived at a conviction that would guide her future: life is brief, so ambitious goals are worth pursuing, even when they are risky. As soon as she finished high school, she set out on her own to test that belief.

Her first summer after graduation was spent on North Carolina's Outer Banks, a stretch of months full of new friends, boys, and beer. There she fell for a handsome DJ known as "Steve the Dream" and gave him her heart despite the risk. When autumn came, Steve left for New York City to pursue modeling, and Laura began considering the same path. After a single semester of college, still searching for something to fill the hole her brother's death had left, she quit school and moved to New York to become a cover model.

In the city she juggled waiting tables, unstable relationships, and the brutally competitive modeling industry, and she gradually lost her direction. This memoir follows her search for hope and stability after devastating loss. It traces her struggle with shame, her turn toward faith, and her realization that failure and risk can open the way to a far larger life than she had imagined.