One teenager’s tragic hidden secret

High school junior Alexandra Valoras, a straight-A student, class officer and robotics whiz, nonetheless felt she wasn’t ever good enough; hiding her despair behind a sunny disposition to the outside world, she ended her life before her 18th birthday. Jim Axelrod talks with the young woman’s parents, friends and teachers about the signs that were missed; the private journals in which the girl wrote down strikingly uncharacteristic words of pain; and how Alexandra’s mom and dad are bringing a message of awareness to other students. [If you are in crisis: Please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.]