Perhaps the most important book on self-harm ever to come to print, Louise Pembroke's book, subtitled 'Perspectives from Experience', helps to reduce the mystery and perverse glamour that surrounds this controversial issue. Self-harm is harrowing both for those who go through it and for those who watch while a loved one suffers. To most of us, it is inexplicable. This book attempts to answer the critical question - why? This collection of stories, written by self-harmers themselves, produces a clearer picture of what self harmers go through - how they think and react. This publication is an important text for anyone who has been through self harm or for those who work with them.