Bloodletting: A Memoir of Secrets, Self-Harm, and Survival

this book was so easy to read, adn on several occassions came close to my own heart. it is blunt and truthful. to the point and insightful not a book for those easily triggered

I went to the bookstore to find a book about suicide. I have been a "cutter" for over 8 years. I was looking for anything, Wondering if what I was feeling was normal, did anyone else feel like this? I went to the recovery section and stumbled upon this book. A book about self harm? It's the first book I'd ever seen in a store about it. I read the first chapter and instantly felt a connection. If you're feeling alone in your thoughts and need an understading or wonder if others have the same thoughts this is aa good book to dip into someone else's life with the very same problem. I read it in a day,couldn't put it down.

This book was extremely well written, and brutally honest. I respect the author for so often seeking help, for fighting the "other voice" in her head that so few people can understand. I also admire the way in which she finally realized that help was ok. Throughout the whole book I was wondering how she could continue putting up with the way her mother was treating her, but finally, it seemed she herself caught on, and it was an "aha" experience. This is the only book I have found about a functional depressed cutter who seeks help for the problems inside her head she can't get other people to understand at all. I believe that the author wrote this book with the best of intentions, and I feel like I could relate to so much of it. I was so grateful to have it and I wish there were more books like this, that don't glamorize, but accurately depict the real struggles of someone who feels drawn to cutting in relation to stress and pain. If only so big a stigma weren't attached to it, if only more cutters felt comfortable seeking help, like there was a place for them and they wouldn't get "sectioned" perhaps we could help alleviate their suffering. I believe this book helps in the feelings of being alone, like nobody can understand. I do admit I was jealous of all the things that happened at just the right time in this author's life. I feel she was truly blessed throughout her journeys. All that aside, I admire Leatham for writing this book. The world needs it.

I really enjoy reading mental health related memoirs, and this one certainly does not disappoint. Ms. Leatham is a very good writer, in fact a professional journalist, and she tells a compelling story. The Australian setting makes the story more interesting to me as an American. I must say that one of the most memorable parts of the book is the apparent suicide of her ex-boyfriend, Mike, who is found washed up on a beach. He was a troubled guy, not surprisingly, especially when considered in retrospect, and for better or worse he's an interesting study in psychology. I sure hope Ms. Leatham is fine today, and I think the reader will care about her and will wish her well. I'm not sure that many people know about this mental health memoir, but I think it's as well written, or nearly as well written, as the best of them, such as Girl Interrupted, An Unquiet Mind, Prozac Diary, and Undercurrents. All four of those books are superbly written and well worth reading, along with Bloodletting. Author of Adjust Your Brain: A Practical Theory for Maximizing Mental Health.

So far, this is the best memoir of self-injury that I have read. Victoria Leatham writes of her struggles with her troubled thoughts, pain, and the undeniable compulsion to cut herself. Leatham lives in Australia and has gone through stays at psychiatric hospitals, diagnoses of bipolar, medication, abusive relationships and constantly moving and changing her career. I think this is a more straight forward account of self-injury then others, such as Skin Game, which focuses more on the writing than on the actual subject matter. I recommend it to those who self-injure and don't want to feel alone, and to those who want to know more about self-injury, particularly to understand why people would do it in the first place. This is a very good book.