Step is the most difficult novel I have written. To try and redeem a character is never an easy task. Being the writer, in my head there is redemption, but will the readers feel the same? Even I have trouble liking a character when they are weak. I want to yell at them, tell them to get some . . .  well you get it.
But this is why I write. I love creating a character that has 'issues' and Step has it in spades. I want real life in my books, the honest emotions that make a character weak and vulnerable. It may even make you dislike or pity them, but the difficult climb back up that hill to find their strength and courage is so much more meaningful.
I spent a lot of time with a therapist discussing my character and the issue. It had to be precise, how they felt, why they felt that way, how they could repair themselves. I never want to make light of a serious issue and the story has to show that.
Step has taken many drastic turns with the writing process, but like the characters, the struggle only makes it stronger.