Ashleigh is a teen who seems to have everything--a circle of good friends, a best friend, good grades, a place on Chesterton High's cross country team, and a cool boyfriend name Kaleb. The one problem is that Kaleb is now on his way to college, and Ashleigh is afraid he'll forget her; already he seems to spend more time with his baseball buddies than with her. So Ashleigh, drunk and encouraged by her friends, decides to take a naked selfie and send it to Kaleb so he will remember her.
Unfortunately, distance relationships can be challenging, and Ashleigh can't get over her sense that Kaleb is lying about his social life at college. Her distrust started when she heard that he had either talked about or shared her picture with one or more of his friends, and she just can't shake her doubts and jealousy. Eventually, Kaleb has enough of her accusations and breaks up with her. Ashleigh's friends, in a misguided show of support, spray shaving cream on his house and rub shoe polish on his car windows. Kaleb's payback --no surprise--is to broadcast the photo.
Thousand Words is Ashleigh's story of how she is targeted by supposed friends and strangers alike when the picture goes public. She is bullied both in school and online and is sentenced to community service as a consequence for texting child pornography. Ashleigh's family is victimized as well; her father is the superintendent of schools and families challenge his ability to set a good example when his only child is caught sexting. Through her retelling of events Ashleigh reveals the intense pain she feels from the shame and betrayals and where she finds the support that helps her survive.
