Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

absolutely wounded me

I just finished reading an amazing book, Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Gasglow.  It wounded me, reminding me of my past students who were cutters. If you are a teacher who cares about the pain your students feel, a parent who watches your children or their friends worrying about what goes on in their heads, or just a person who believes in hope, you need to read this book.

Girl in Pieces will take you on a journey through the hell of Charlie’s life as she struggles with coping without cutting. The book is raw, not kind, but it doesn’t leave you without some kind of hope.  Glasgow weaves her story realistically.  As much as I wanted to tell myself that this doesn’t happen, the voice inside me murmured, you know it does.

Homelessness, abuse, addiction, cutting.  It’s hard to take in all of it, but Glasgow will capture you and draw you along through the story, sometimes gently, sometimes brutally.  At the end, she provides links for those who are seeking help.  She doesn’t leave you bleeding on the floor, but gives you the resources to heal and journey toward a better world.

You wish the characters weren’t believable.  You pray that these tortured souls are a figment of the author’s imagination, but the writing is compelling, and you know that these characters are too real.  You may even catch glimpses of people you know or have brushed against in the past.  You wonder if you looked through them and never noticed their pain.

Girl in Pieces is going to haunt me for a long time, and I will whisper, “sorrysorrysorrysorry” for all those past students who I missed seeing their signals.