Very
little has been written about
the practise of cutting oneself
and in her novel
“Bloodletting” Janet Leatham
tackles this subject.She candidly writes about
her gradual decline into mental
illness and about her many
hospitalisations without
apology.Her honesty is
astounding.Through hard work and a
persistent belief that she could
get better she has managed to
drag herself out of horrible
depths of spirit- the strength
this must have taken is mind
boggling.The author does not
purport to be speaking for all
who choose to cut themselves,
she simply presents her story.She tells us what she
did, why she did it and how this
made her feel.
I
was absolutely overcome with admiration for the bravery of this woman and
I can only marvel at the strength of character it must have taken to keep
picking herself up time and time again. She makes frank admissions
regarding her alcohol and drug abuse and her promiscuity and throughout it
all there is no finger pointing or blame laying.I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for the loyal people
who loved her to keep supporting her when they could see that she was
approaching self-destruct yet again.
The experiences Ms Leatham had whilst trying to
find the help she knew she needed serve to highlight how little is really
known about this particular facet of mental illness.This lack was evident even amongst health professionals including
mental health practitioners.This
lack of knowledge is really quite alarming.
This
was a thoroughly compelling
read.Easy to follow, funny and
honest I couldn’t put this
book down.Throughout the entire
story the courage ofJanet Leatham is
breathtaking.It was gratifying to have
the closure at the completion of
the book where you she tells you
of how well she is at the
moment.If this book raises
awareness of some of the issues
surrounding this illness, then
it will be the most worthwhile
book I have read so far this
year.
