My novel, on which this film is based, was published in 2012. It was born from what I imagined my worst nightmare to be: losing my sister. She had a history of addiction and attempted suicide several times. I wanted to show her, through my writing, just how horrible it would be to lose a sibling—to lose me—in an effort to save her from herself.

However, it wasn’t enough. She overdosed two years later. Tragically, my worst nightmare came true.

My sister was on numerous prescription anti-depressant, anxiety and pain medications at the time of her death. The 90’s saw a lot of kids just like my sister, who were driven to suicide because of misdiagnoses and over-prescribing—it’s an epidemic that has largely gone unnoticed. This epidemic, along with that universal sense of teenage alienation, are themes explored in “No Alternative.” This film is deeply personal for me, but it’s also a story that I know will resonate with teenagers of yesterday, today and tomorrow. It’s the perfect time period to confront the ideas of suicide, addiction and mental illness, in hopes of removing the stigmas attached to them. So many people refuse to talk openly about mental illness and view suicide in a taboo light, which is extremely detrimental. I want this film to shine a light on these subjects through dramatic storytelling.

I believe, as artists, we are all expert at one thing—while we may be capable of telling a variety of different stories, there’s the one story which burns inside, which we were meant to share and use all the skills and resources at our disposal to tell, no matter what stands in our way.

For me, this is that story.“