(Probably Found) - Collapsed civilization/societal breakdown and teen girl who can feel others pain. Title??

[lulubean]

Hi Everyone! I'm looking for a book I read in my HS 'Future Studies' class in the 90's. Not sure when exactly it was published. It centers around a collapsed civilization/societal breakdown and teen girl who can feel others pain. I don't recall the specifics of why the 'sympathy bleeding' occurs, but I know the main character bleeds if she sees other people bleeding (or even if they FAKE injury w/ketchup - as I think a brother or friend did). For awhile her family survived in a walled-off cul-de-sac (they LITERALLY had built a wall around it), but eventually people rush the place and destroy their home. The rest of the story is her and her friends/family(?) trying to get to find a place to settle down in saftey/peace. I would appreciate the help if anyone knows the title or author.

Thank you!

 

[CassFrank]

This is surely Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (1993). Literary sci fi novel.

Post-apocalyptic, it involves a young woman (Lauren) who feels others’ pain.

Goodreads: “The year is 2026. American society is rapidly breaking down thanks to global warning, economic stagnation and wealth disparity. 18-year-old Lauren Olamina lives with her family in a walled-off middle class neighborhood outside LA, but she knows that their little island of relative safety will not last. No one can leave the compound without risking their lives. People are desperate and bereft of any hope…

Lauren is born with a dangerous condition, hyper-empathy, which means she feels whatever pain she witnesses inflicted on others. When her neighborhood is finally breached and she is forced out into the harsh new world, this empathy is only one of her great challenges…”

Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1)

In 2025, with the world descending into madness and ana…

www.goodreads.com

 

[Pyan]

Sounds good! Title expanded and changed to PF.