A Bright Red Scream: Self-mutilation and the language of pain

(Paperback)

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As groundbreaking as REVIVING OPHELIA and Hope Edelman's MOTHERLESS DAUGHTERS, A BRIGHT RED SCREAM is a compelling investigation of why so many people deliberately hurt themselves and what can be done to help them. This is an illness that was outed on a global scale when Princess Diana admitted hurting herself deliberately, and it continues to be practised mainly by middle-class women who start in their teens and self-harm throughout their lives. Most cutters are women who have been emotionally, sexually, or physically abused as children, but Strong's research shows that self- mutilation appears in other groups. There are powerful first-person stories, in which cutters describe their ritualistic methods and somewhat addictive cravings for seeing their own blood. Though research is in its infancy, therapists say there are now promising treatments - from medication to intensive psychotherapy - for the millions of 'cutters'. Strong reveals what the afflicted and those close to them can do to start a process of healing.

Reviews

'Compelling reading about the psychology of self-harm, 'A Bright Red Scream' demystifies forms of behaviour, where an individual is compelled to cut and injure themselves... The disturbing material in this book is sensitively handled' BIG ISSUE 'Strong's book ought to leap on to the reading list of anyone involved in pastoral work with adolescents. Those bright red screams want to be heard' TES 'The first book I have read which looks with understanding and compassion at the victims of self-mutilation and the case histories presented give major insights into this disturbing behaviour' Irish Independent 'This beautifully written, sensitively told account of people who mutilate themselves is filled with riveting stories that will haunt a reader long after the last page has been turned. Every person who has ever taken a razor to her body, along with the professionals who treat such women and men, will benefit from reading this moving book' LILLIAN B. RUBIN, author of THE TRANSCENDENT CHILD 'A landmark study, deftly written, waiting to be bookmarked' I- D

Author Bio

Marilee Strong, an award-winning journalist known for her groundbreaking 1993 article on self-mutilation, is the recipient of a Pulitzer Fellowship for her work on childhood victims of war trauma.