When author Dionne Mack awoke the morning of November 17, 2010, she was overcome with sadness and for an unknown reason she felt like something bad was going to happen. The feeling followed her all that day and little did she know, everything around her was about to become permanently altered. She received a call that every parent fear, her only son collapsed while playing basketball at the local recreation center. He couldn't be revived.

In The Pain We Hold Inside, she narrates her gut-wrenching story, describing how she was unable to grieve because of the circumstances surrounding her son's death. Dionne tells her truth and explains in detail the hurdles she faced while attempting to right the wrongs that ultimately resulted in the loss of her child.

This memoir highlights Dionne's pain, confusion, anger, and coping mechanisms. It chronicles a roller coaster of emotions a parent feels when he or she lose a child.