A short story in which the parents of a teenager are cataloguing their daughter's cuts. Their helplessness in the face of the daughter's self-injury is familiar, as is the removal of sharp objects in the family home.
Quote:
There were no consequences. There was just her husband’s notepad of wounds that they gave to the therapist, who didn’t seem do to anything except bill for $115 an hour, and nothing was getting better.
This story focuses on Joe, a young man who is being ousted from his family. Due to the stress of his situation he self-injures by picking scabs and warts. Digging down to the nerve endings generates calm in him.
About a clinically depressed screenwriter who ends up in a psychiatric ward after mentioning suicide to his doctors. He meets a ballerina who burns herself and forms a strange relationship with her. An interesting viewpoint and after all the protagonist's romanticizing of self-injury gets more realistic.
Quote:
"Where exactly do you put your hands on somebody who hurts everywhere?"
Can be read at The New Yorker's website here: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/12/08/031208fi_fiction
Popular Culture - Short Story published by Gabrielle 2 years ago ()
Login
Welcome!
My name is Gabrielle and I am twenty-eight years old. I began to self-injure at age fifteen -- so nearly thirteen years -- minus a two year period. This website was made to let self-injurers know that they are not alone and to help their friends and family learn more about self-injury and how it affects their loved one.
