In this raw and luminous debut, Kat Lively shares a story shaped by grief, inspiration, and the art life. From a harrowing beginning—sold for drugs as an infant and grappling with the death of her family as a teenager—to performing music in New York City clubs alongside music legends, and later preserving film history in Hollywood through interviews with cinematic icons. Lively weaves soulful and unique insight with behind-the-scenes stories, lighting fires in life’s darkest corners. Her stories range from endearing moments over coffee with film and television icons, to moments of uncertainty and heartbreak as she navigates grief and purpose. Child in the Wild traces the quiet strength of those who hold tight to love, intuition, creativity, and the strange, shimmering gifts the unseen reveals when we dare to look. Both a love letter to the people, films, and music that shaped her, and a companion for anyone seeking meaning and hope, this book offers a deeply personal and universal meditation of resilience, authenticity, and the human experience.