Mar 23, 2011
Van Gelder begins her fast-paced memoir at an art camp when she’s fifteen. She has deluded herself into believing a boy she’s known for two weeks is her boyfriend. After they engage in what President Clinton evidently doesn’t consider sex, pseudo-boyfriend confesses that he has a real girlfriend back home. Van Gelder responds by dismantling a disposable razor blade, cutting her arms, and using her blood to finger paint a note to him reading, “Please. Don’t leave me. I need you.” The next 178 pages detail her rollercoaster life of pain as she struggles through many mental health