I wish that more people had the opportunity to read this book. As a person who is very familiar with self-harm, I found myself understanding the mindset behind many of the stories in this book. This is an issue that is often not discussed as much as it should be due to its taboo nature, but it is something that really should be discussed as much as possible. Many thanks go to the author who is able to bring light to a very bleak subject. ( )

This is a must read if you know someone you care about that's a self-mutiliator. Our society is so quick to judge others by their actions, particularly if considered "abnormal". This book puts you into the mind of those with this issue. Non-judgemental understanding is the goal of the book and it succeeds in bringing the reader there. ( )

this is a comprehensive scholarly resource on the subject of self mutilation. The research is comprehensive. It is both qualitative and quantitative. It also spa M.ns many decades. ( )

This is an interesting but ultimately flawed look at the phenomenon of self-mutilation as it relates to mental illness. Self-mutilation can take many forms, but the most common seem to be self-inflicted cutting and burning. It's not undertaken with an intent to commit suicide; instead, many people who cut or otherwise injure themselves believe it is one of the things that prevents them from committing suicide.

There aren't that many books for the layperson on this issue, despite increased exposure in the media. This book, by a journalist, pretty much falls under the "good start" category. My biggest problem with it is that at the outset, Strong mentions that the majority of people who self-injure are women who have been sexually abused, but that a sizable minority don't fit that category. She then proceeds to completely ignore self-injury in people who have NOT been sexually abused for the rest of the book. Almost all of the theories she discusses involve PTSD and dissociative disorder brought on by sexual trauma, and she seems to have disregarded any case history that did not fit this paradigm. This ended up frustrating me a lot, and also made me wonder what other inconvenient theories and case histories she'd disregarded in favor of a tidier narrative. ( )

A very good, detailed, informative book about self-injury. ( )