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Sharp: A Memoir
"Endorphins sped through me. I spun around, growing dizzy, frantic, and silly. I wasn't drunk, but I felt a nice stoned feeling, sans paranoia, and I thought, 'I believe I've found my new pharmaceutical deep inside.' I giggled fearlessly, manically at this and looked down at myself; hands, arms, chest, and belly covered in crimson . . . "
Sharp is the story of a young man w...more
Sharp is the story of a young man w...more
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published
August 21st 2012
by William Morrow
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Wally Lamb (author of She's Come Undone) whose book I just also finished reading...is a friend of the author of Sharp. And they share two things in common. As Wally Lamb's character was thoroughly unlikeable until she was transformed by therapy....so I struggled to like David (author and protagonist of Sharp). I am a bit ashamed to say that I struggled to like him...because I used to cut and burn too. But I did not by any means take DELIGHT in self mutilation as does David and that fact about hi...more
Burned through the first 150 pages of this today at Barnes and Noble... i'll probably go back to finish the second half some time soon. I don't really sympathize with a lot of the author's "problems", pretty typical bully/family stuff that I feel he sort of blows out of proportion. However, I can relate to some of the feelings he describes, which he does describe well. The book is written for easy reading, for the layman (I am a layman), which I appreciate (this was a random grab at Barnes and N...more
True story, mostly. I like the disclaimer at the beginning (no repeat of James Frey's saga). David Fitzpatrick had a pretty normal childhood, friends, siblings, bullies, girlfriends. However, when he went to college, things started to get dark. He found himself in a vicious cycle of depression and he turned to self mutilation. As the years progressed, his mental illness intensified, as did his cutting behaviors. Determined to harm himself, and unable to stop, David began seeing a psychiatrist, a...more
I've read quite a few memoirs and I really like memoirs- I love getting a glimpse into someone else's life and seeing how I can relate to them. David is a really terrific writer and this story flows from his young adult self to his fully adult self and you get to see the complete wave of mental illness play out. To be honest, I felt absolutely terrible for him. From obvious bullying in college to his struggle with mental illness and all that includes is enough to make a normal person feel down o...more
Sharp: A Memoir by David Fitzpatrick is not an easy book to read. Oh, Fitzpatrick is extremely articulate and the memoir is definitely well written, but the raw emotions he shares with candor and honesty makes this one tough book to read. It is truly about going to hell and back - if hell is a mental state.
After college mental illness gripped author David Fitzpatrick's life and began almost two decades of torment. He began cutting at age twenty-three after breaking up with a girlfriend. Before t...more
After college mental illness gripped author David Fitzpatrick's life and began almost two decades of torment. He began cutting at age twenty-three after breaking up with a girlfriend. Before t...more
_Sharp_ is a kind of Freudian, male book. Fitzpatrick tells the story of finding his way back after almost twenty years of hospitalizations and therapy for a cutting disorder. His fantasies are often about sexual stuff--he often dreams of flying penises--and one shrink tells him that every time he cuts he creates a little vagina. It's an interesting book for several reasons: (1) he's institutionalized at a time when institutionalization is becoming more and more rare and his middle-class parents...more
I suppose I should have more empathy but this is the most uninteresting depressive I have ever read about. I can't remember ever being so happy to finish a book.
It was clear from the beginning that Fitzpatrick was repressing his homosexuality from an early age. It was confirmed when he described Jordan’s “The Shot” against the Cavs as follows: “When I returned Michael Jordan was on the TV, with several seconds remaining to hit an amazing jump shot against the Cleveland Cavaliers. “ That’s not q...more
It was clear from the beginning that Fitzpatrick was repressing his homosexuality from an early age. It was confirmed when he described Jordan’s “The Shot” against the Cavs as follows: “When I returned Michael Jordan was on the TV, with several seconds remaining to hit an amazing jump shot against the Cleveland Cavaliers. “ That’s not q...more
Until I read David Fitzpatrick’s account in Sharp of what it is like to be a self-harmer, I never really understood how someone could do that to themselves (cutting, burning, etc). I am not good with pain at all, and I can’t imagine ever putting myself in pain on purpose. After reading this book, though, I understand it a bit better. Really, we can never truly understand what brings people to self-harm until we are in that situation, but I now have a much better idea. This is a really horrible a...more
David Fitzpatrick had it all as a young man, including a degree from a great university, good-looks, and artistic promise. However, mental illness swooped in and stole it all away, shaking its finger in his face, saying "Don't be stupid. You don't deserve that!" His crippling, low self-esteem drove him to cut himself, which for once in his life gave him a semblance of control.
David Fitzpatrick, now in his 40s, revisits the time before mental illness claimed his life with astonishing clarity. Des...more
David Fitzpatrick, now in his 40s, revisits the time before mental illness claimed his life with astonishing clarity. Des...more
The author's story is fascinating, but I would have liked a lot more insight. You spend a significant portion of the book with him in the times before his illness, then the bulk of the book in the illness itself, but without the same depth. It feels voyeuristic. Then the book pretty abruptly ends. "I started to feel better, then I felt better. Now I have a wife, here's a few paragraphs about that. And hey, don't give up." This after chapter upon chapter of his 20 year slog through a horrible bip...more
Reminiscent of "Million Little Pieces" in its narrative of substance abuse, self-loathing, illness, and recovery. The descriptions of manic episodes and the accompanying drawings, presumably from the author's notebooks, were difficult at times to read and look at. Fitzpatrick weaves together reflections on his youth and young adult life - traumatic events and incidents of abuse - which may have set up the author's downward spiral. I'm reminded also of a documentary film on musician Daniel Johnst...more
"Sharp" is a very apt title for David Fitzpatrick's debut. While the memoir is about cutting and self-harm, and Fitzpatrick's relationship with sharp objects, the work itself is sharp.
Fitzpatrick draws precise portraits of everyone he meets during his quest to be well; he profiles his family members, ex-girlfriends, doctors, fellow patients on the wards he lives in, and even his tormentors. His insight into others is almost as compelling as the story he tells about himself and his life with men...more
Fitzpatrick draws precise portraits of everyone he meets during his quest to be well; he profiles his family members, ex-girlfriends, doctors, fellow patients on the wards he lives in, and even his tormentors. His insight into others is almost as compelling as the story he tells about himself and his life with men...more
This is from the first page on, a sharp intake of breath, and a holding, holding, waiting to breath. Sharp intensifies honestly, horrendously, and underneath the horror of this one man's struggle, lies courage, sweetness and nobility. Sharp is a reminder to not forget all those who suffer, even perhaps when upon quick glances, all seems well. Sharp, a memoir, offers a compassionate and deeply internal view of mental illness - it's range - those who struggle, and is a book which this reader thing...more
I'm still reeling a bit after reading this. It was a brutal read at times, yet it needed to be in order to accurately describe the author's harrowing journey through his cutting addiction and mental illness. This was beyond 'visceral' it was searingly graphic. I've read other reviews about this and must concur that I've never really understood the euphoria that one experiences from cutting and why it's so addictive. This memoir is a definitive answer to those who don't understand why someone wo...more
After a certain point in the book, I had to constantly remind myself that the author emerges from his battle with mental illness as a much healthier person (obviously, as he is stable enough to write a memoir). But getting to that point is grueling, really grueling. Would have liked to read more about his transition from institution to living alone and getting his life back--he spends a surprisingly short amount of time talking about that.
Mary Fitzpatrick offers a window into the cutter's world and the incredible toll that self hatred extracts. It is a reminder of the devastation that bullying can cause whether by a sibling or purported friends. It is a page turner and thankfully a story of redemption and the perseverance of a man who overcomes his compulsion to self inflict pain. In the end this is the story of hope and the resilience of the human spirit.(less)
I'll be honest - I struggled with this one a bit, and I almost gave it three stars for that reason. But it's such a real, close look at how mental illness can ravage a human being that I had to go with 4. It is at times extremely disturbing, and it can be hard to relate to Fitzpatrick at points in the book because he has such a large break with reality, but through all that is the glimpse of humanity needed to fight through his illness and survive.
The book was very graphic, eye-opening, and sad. I didn't find it particularly interesting or gripping, however. In the end, it's a lot of depressing stories about a person who had serious mental health issues.
Amazing book written by a man who suffered an extended battle with mental illness. Must read for mental health care professionals. I don't know how he was able to write this vividly descriptive memoir.
Thesaurus much? I feel bad for this guy, he went through hell, and he seems to have a good heart. But the adjectives! So many adjectives! Sometimes used incorrectly, sometimes used bizarrely, always strung together in never ending adjective-trains. The writing is just plain bad. "Insipid" does not mean what he thinks it means. Luscious! Scrumptious! Breasts! WTF is up with all the breasts? Did I mention the adjectives?
This book took a long time for me to get through, but I did like it as a whole. I've never really understood the drive that causes people to cut themselves,I wanted to get a better understanding. While the descriptions in this book are from and about David's life, the book does help to grasp more about why people, in general, harm themselves. This is definitely a book to read if you want better first-hand knowledge on the subject, without getting into too much of the gory details (though, there...more
I will never look at mental illness in quite the same way. This is a frank, honest and heart-wrenching journey of pain and healing.
It was ok...it was very dark for most of the book. The end proves that no matter how bad it get there is always hope...sometimes hope does not arrive as soon as we need it to but it does arrive eventually for anyone no matter how bad things are.
cool, got this book in the mail today, not sure where i won it from but i won't complain! =)
I enjoyed this but felt the last few chapters were harder to get through..
A frank, graphic journey with the author through his journey with mental illness. I could not put it down.
well written, interesting look at the other side of mental illness
The book was very well written. I think David Fitzpatrick has a wonderful way with words. However, it took me a while to trudge through the memoir and was glad to finally be done with it.
Oct 11, 2012
Cathrine
marked it as to-read
I was gifted this tonight.
Amazing, powerful, raw, real, intense, insightful...
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