A Bright Red Scream

As groundbreaking as REVIVING OPHELIA and Hope Edelman's MOTHERLESS DAUGHTERS, A BRIGHT RED SCREAM is a compelling investigation of why so many people deliberately hurt themselves and what can be done to help them. This is an illness that was outed on a global scale when Princess Diana admitted hurting herself deliberately, and it continues to be practised mainly by middle-class women who start in their teens and self-harm throughout their lives. Most cutters are women who have been emotionally, sexually, or physically abused as children, but Strong's research shows that self-mutilation appears in other groups. There are powerful first-person stories, in which cutters describe their ritualistic methods and somewhat addictive cravings for seeing their own blood.Though research is in its infancy, therapists say there are now promising treatments -- from medication to intensive psychotherapy -- for the millions of 'cutters'. Strong reveals what the afflicted and those close to them can do to start a process of healing.