Often, we tend to turn those feelings against ourselves by listening to the critical voices in our minds.

The guilt and anxiety that self-injurers describe are endured by many people who don’t injure themselves as well. Patricia succeeded in making her readers feel that they’re not alone in whatever they’re going through. Just as the book states, “Sometimes when we’re in situations where we feel we’re not in control, we do things, especially things that take a lot of energy, as a way of making ourselves feel we have some power.” When my own mental health wasn’t the best, I ended up coming to this book. Patricia sympathetically and authentically renders a real sense of harm and powerlessness which exist within almost everyone when we’re going through difficult times. Then exhausted.”Ĭut is not just relatable to people who hurt themselves. I watched from above, waiting to see how big it would get before it burst. The line grew into a long, fat bubble, a lush crimson bubble that got bigger and bigger. What happened next was that a perfect, straight line of blood bloomed from under the edge of the blade. Then I was on the ceiling looking down, waiting to see what would happen next. The floor tipped up at me and my body spiralled away.

Immediately on the second and third page, readers get to see Callie’s fear and her attempt to replace emotional pain with physical pain:Ī tingle arced across my scalp.

And I knew then that if I couldn’t see her, no one could see me.” Cut reflects Callie’s psychological struggles in a clear, accurate way using descriptive and somewhat abstract language. But what scared me, really scared me, was that I couldn’t remember the moment when I’d stopped seeing her. Throughout the book, the protagonist’s progress in understanding herself and seeking help is marked by her increasing speech among her friends at Sea Pines, a residential treatment facility, and her therapist. The first four pages instantly engage readers with a vivid explanation of what Callie does. The book starts in the second-person perspective, with “You” being Callie’s therapist, who serves an essential role in helping Callie throughout her treatment. Enough to feel the scream inside.” Cut provides a powerful insight into a teen’s struggles in response to her damaged family and offers the readers a subtle way to self-help when they feel trapped, just like Callie did. When I was first introduced to this book, the unusual title and some words on the back immediately caught my attention: “Callie cuts herself. In this book, Patricia tackles a side of mental illness rarely seen in young-adult literature in a believable and sensitive manner by telling a story centring around Callie, a girl with self-mutilation issues. Cut is the debut of Patricia McCormick, an American author and journalist.

Cut book by patricia mccormick