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I'm going to skip over the summary of the story as many other reviewers have already taken care of that and explain my reasoning behind a single star rating.

First of all, I am a cutter (have been for 10 years and will always identify as such whether or not I'm actively self-injuring) who grew up with a neglectful mother who suffers from untreated bipolar disorder. In my opinion, based on my experiences and the reasons behind my cutting, I will say that a good 98% of this book is either a heavily glossed over version of what cutting and self-injury is really about or Patricia McCormick's complete inability to understand cutting despite a supposed three years of research.

Secondly, Callie's character had actual potential, which is possibly one of the saddest things about the whole disappointment we're calling a book. She's a runner, perfectionist, the oldest child with a perpetually sick sibling, neglected by both of her parents, the daughter of an alcoholic, and seems to suffer from a combination of trust issues and social anxiety. Potential. However, McCormick completely screwed all of that up by attempting to have Callie dissociate while cutting. Now, I'm not an expert on cutting or dissociation, I fully admit that, BUT in all the books on psychology I have ever read and in all the times I have self-injured, I have NEVER dissociated. Dissociation is something that occurs as a reaction to severe trauma, often repeated, prolonged trauma, which is something that Callie has never gone through. She does not suffer from any form of trauma or PTSD that would cause such an extreme reaction to hurting herself. In fact, as far as the reader is led to believe, her cutting is comparatively (to an extreme trauma victim's experiences at any rate) mild and her cutting doesn't last very long before she is sent to a hospital. This is quite possibly the worst part of how McCormick describes cutting. Of course, all self-injurers have different personalities and mindsets but to describe dissociation as McCormick does in the book, isn't even what real dissociation is and I think that's what makes me angriest. In those three years did she never look up an article or pick up a book about dissociation or dissociative identity disorders?

Thirdly, cutting is a much more intense experience than McCormick is able to describe. I related to Callie's feelings a good part of the time until it came to the parts I should relate to most strongly. I honestly don't think it's possible for anyone who has never intentionally hurt themselves for release from pain, stress, anxiety, etcetera, to understand the complexities of it. In the most simplest of descriptions, cutting is the result of such great pent-up emotions that the only way to release them, the only way to survive them, is to destroy yourself, remind yourself that because you can feel the pain means that you're alive and that to be able to feel pain you caused yourself gives you control over the pain others are causing you. It quickly becomes the most effective way that cutters know to deal with and accept what outside forces are instilling upon them. To reduce cutting to something so near-meaningless is an insult to sufferers of self-injury everywhere.

Finally, I do not recommend this book to people who are struggling with self-injury or friends and family of people who are in this situation. My advice is that whoever you are, if this is something happening now and you need help, find it. Seek counseling or therapy, seek out someone in this field who you feel comfortable with and trust. The most important thing for a cutter to do is to find someone they feel comfortable talking to. If you're not able to seek out professional help, utilize the internet. There are people willing to listen, I promise.