Based on a true story?

[Cougar21]

I'd like to introduce myself first. My name is Herbert (call me Herb)

The reason I became a member is because a friend gave me a book for
Christmas by an author name Martin Bartloff. I'm not suicidal or
anything and I only known of a handful of people who committed suicide
who were really close friends or anything.

Then I read Bartloff's book called "Torn From Normal" and I got a real
wake up call. I have never cried watching a sad movie, but reading
this Young Adult fiction novel made me sob like a baby. Pretty much
Torn From Normal deals with the life of seventeen-year-old Andy who
loses both his parents in the story. This book has a 5 star rating on
Amazon and Bartloff's reviews are stunning.

I wonder if the book is based on a true story. Bartloff devoted a page
with suicidal hotlines in the very back of the book . Has anybody else
here read it, or heard of it by any chance?