In Laura Snow's book, Trading Pain for Pain, these are the issues that Kya has to struggle through as she faces each day of her young life. As the daughter of an aspiring musician, she is forced to move all across the country. Never staying in one place long enough to be anything other then the new kid, Kya finds it hard to adjust. Afraid to hurt those around her, Kya turns to hurting herself, trading one pain for another. But as death slowly overshadows Kya's life, the secrets of her cutting are revealed and she begins the hope filled journey of learning to live without it.