“A little kid asks my dad why that man is chopping down the tree. Dad: He's not chopping it down. He's saving it. Those branches were long dead from disease. All plants are like that. By cutting off the damage you make it possible for the tree to grow again. You watch - by the end of summer, this tree will be the strongest on the block.” MenLittlesLongEndsKidsAsksSpeakGrowsWatchesCuttingTreeDadDiseaseSummerPlantMy DadBlockSavingDamageBranchesStrongestLittle KidChoppingEnd Of SummerCutting Off Author:Laurie Halse Anderson
“I stand in the center aisle of the auditorium, a wounded zebra in a National Geographic special, looking for someone, anyone to sit next to. A predator approaches: gray jock buzz cut, whistle around a neck thicker than his head. Probably a social studies teacher, hired to coach a blood sport.” NextSocialSportsStudyTeacherCuttingBloodSpecialApproachCoachesNecksGrayWoundedPredatorSocial StudiesBuzzAisleJocksZebrasAuditoriumsNational Geographic Book:Speak Source: Speak
“I failed eating, failed drinking, failed not cutting myself into shreds. Failed friendship. Failed sisterhood and daughterhood. Failed mirrors and scales and phone calls. Good thing I'm stable.” CuttingEatingMirrorsGood ThingsDrinkingPhonesScalesStableSisterhoodPhone CallsWintergirlsCutting Myself Author:Laurie Halse Anderson
“I want to go to sleep and not wake up, but I don't want to die. I want to eat like a normal person eats, but I need to see my bones or I will hate myself even more and I might cut my heart out or take every pill that was ever made.” WantNeedsHeartPersonsMadeMightHateDiesSleepCuttingMy HeartNormalWake UpBonesPillsGoing To SleepWanting To DieHate Myself Book:Wintergirls Source: Wintergirls
“Puke and starve and cut and drink because you don't want to feel any of this. Puke and starve and cut and drink because you need an anesthetic and it works. For awhile. But then the anesthetic turns into poison and by then it's to late because you are maintaining it now,straight into your soul. It is rotting you and you can't stop.” WantNeedsFeelsSoulTurnsCuttingDrinkLateYour SoulPoisonMaintainingRottingPukeAnesthetics Book:Wintergirls Source: Wintergirls
“Cutting pain was a different flavor of hurt. It made it easier not to think about having my body and my family and my life stolen, made it easier not to care... -Wintergirls” ThinkingMadeDifferentBodyCarePainHurtCuttingEasierMy FamilyMade ItFlavorStolenSelf InjuryEmotional WoundsWintergirls Author:Laurie Halse Anderson
“Emma hears me come up the stairs and asks me to watch a movie with her. I stick Band-Aids on my weeping cuts, put on pink pajamas so we match, and snuggle with her under her rainbow comforter. She arranges all of her stuffed animals around us in a circle, everyone facing the TV, then presses play...Ghosts dare not enter here.” PlayAsksAnimalWatchesCuttingTvsBandPressesSticksCome UpDareAidsCirclesGhostAsk MeRainbowWeepingStairsEmmaPajamasComforterBand AidStuffed Animal Author:Laurie Halse Anderson
“CONJUGATE THIS: I cut class, you cut class, he, she, it cuts class. We cut class, they cut class. We all cut class. I cannot say this in Spanish because I did not go to Spanish today. Gracias a dios. Hasta luego.” TodayClassCuttingDio Book:Speak Source: Speak
“I wish adults would spend less energy freaking out about the cutting itself and work harder to understand what drives kids to self-harm.” SelfKidsEnergyWishCuttingHard WorkAdultsHarderHarmWork HarderSelf HarmFreaking Out Author:Laurie Halse Anderson
“Used to be that my whole body was my canvas-hot cuts licking my ribs, ladder rungs climbing my arms, thick milkweed stalks shooting up my thighs.” WholeBodyUsedCuttingArmsHotUsed To BeShootingInjuryClimbingThickCanvasLaddersStalkingThighsRibsLickingSelf InjuryShooting UpMilkweed Book:Wintergirls Source: Wintergirls
“I showed her how I'd been making tiny cuts in my skin to let the badness and the pain leak out. They were shallow at first, and short, like claw marks made by a desperate cat that wanted to hid under the front porch. Cutting pain was a different flavor of hurt. It made it easier not to think about having my body and my family and my life stolen, made it easier not to care.” ThinkingFirstsMadeDifferentBodyCareWantedPainHurtCuttingFrontsEasierCatMy FamilySkinsMarkTinyMade ItDesperateInjuryShallowFlavorStolenClawsLeaksPorchBadnessSelf InjuryFront Porches Author:Laurie Halse Anderson
“Memory cuts both ways; it can either provide you with tremendous strength and a foundation to carry you through your life, or it can be a demon that just ruins your present and your future because you can’t let go of the past.” WayPastMemoriesCuttingLetting GoFoundationRuinsDemonOur FutureYour FutureCan't Let Go Author:Laurie Halse Anderson
