P. Carr writes a classic account of a foster youth who is in trouble, feels no one notices, and acts out as a cry for help. At first she throws herself down stairs to get attention, then she starts cutting herself. It’s a way to forget the pain inside her, but also a way to feel something rather than emptiness and numbness. Cutting is her security blanket, almost an addiction, that she’s not yet ready to give up.

Prompts for discussion and/or writing:

--The writer is being abused at home and feels no one notices her problems. She throws herself down stairs and then cuts herself to get attention. Have you been in a similar situation, where no one seemed to notice what you were going through? What did you do to try to get people to notice? What happened?

--The writer has had bad experiences with adults. She feels they didn’t care, didn’t hear her problems, and were constantly moving in and out of her life. Have you had similar experiences with the adults in your life? Why/why not? How did these experiences affect you?

--If you were the writer, how would you have handled your problem? How else could you have gotten people to notice your pain?

--The writer says she cuts herself to forget her pain, but also to feel something rather than nothing. Can you relate to these statements? How?

--The writer still cuts herself because she sees it as a security blanket, because it’s the only way she feels she has control over her feelings. What would need to happen for the writer to give up the cutting? What other, healthier ways could she have control over her feelings?

--Write a short letter to P. Carr, describing steps she could take to change her situation.