Women living with self-injury PDF
Preview Women living with self-injury
title: Women Living With Self-injury author: Hyman, Jane Wegscheider. publisher: Temple University Press isbn10 | asin: 1566397200 print isbn13: 9781566397209 ebook isbn13: 9780585364070 language: English Self-mutilation, Women--Mental health, subject Self-injurious behavior. publication date: 1999 lcc: RC552.S4H95 1999eb ddc: 616.85/82/0082 Self-mutilation, Women--Mental health, subject: Self-injurious behavior. Page iii Women Living with Self-Injury Jane Wegscheider Hyman Page iv Temple University Press, Philadelphia 19122 Copyright © 1999 by Jane Wegscheider Hyman All rights reserved Published 1999 Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z59.481984 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hyman, Jane Wegscheider. Women living with self-injury / Jane Wegscheider Hyman. p. cm. ISBN 1-56639-720- 0 (cloth : alk. paper).ISBN 1566397219 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Self-mutilation. 2. WomenMental health. 3. Self-injurious behavior. I. Title. RC552.S4H95 1999 616.85'82'0082dc21 9917714 CIP Page v If you could come into my mind and see what I seeI'm trying to let you see what I see. Elizabeth This book is dedicated to the women whose experiences made it possible, and, as always, to JFH and HW. Page vi Wer die Fragen nicht beantworten kann, hat die Pruefung bestanden. Franz Kafka, Die Pruefung, 1936 Page vii Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Prologue: 13 Home, Sweet Home 1 23 The Last Secret: Self-Injuring Women Speak 2 47 From Childhood Abuse to Adult Behavior 3 63 Meredith Tells Her Story 4 78 Self-Injuring Women at the Workplace 5 96 Life with Lovers, Families, and Friends 6 123 Helena's Struggle with Compulsion 7 136 Help for Women Who Self-Injure and Their Therapists 8 158 Sarah O.'s Past and Present 9 176 Recovery: Hopes and Achievements Epilogue: 189 Three Faces of Self-Injury Resources 195 Notes 200 Index 211 Page ix Acknowledgments This project was possible because of my informants: the women who taught me what it is like to live with and overcome self-injury. My first thanks go to them for their honesty, courage, patience, and trust, and for allowing me to be their scribe. Several of them became my editors as well, critiquing the chapters they helped create and patiently allowing me to call them again and again, long after the original interviews, to check on uncertainties. They also became role models because of their fortitude and lack of self-pity. I regret that they cannot be thanked by name. As always, Mary Waggener, Charles Hyman, Jack Hyman, Peggy Schoditsch, and Sonja Wetzsteon provided interest, encouragement, and sensitive chapter critiques. Andee Rubin, long-time friend and "personal editor," allowed me once again to benefit from her skill in chapter structure and organization, and to enjoy her empathic interest. My special thanks also to Sarah Shaw, Susan Lewis, and Barent Walsh with whom I meet monthly to discuss aspects of self-injury and our respective work on the subject. We provide each other with challenges, disagreements, endless questions, critiques of chapter and article drafts, and opportunities to talk about self-injury, not a topic our friends or colleagues necessarily want to discuss. Susan and Barent critiqued several chapters each, and Sarah critiqued drafts of all chapters. Dawn Balcazar and Robin Connors took the time to review the book proposal as well as critique later chapters, and Dawn Balcazar reviewed the entire first draft. Ruta Mazelis gave her valuable critique to the first four chapters. Of course, my gratitude to all those mentioned above and below does not imply that they agree with me on all points, or that errors are anyone's fault but my own. Michael Ames, my editor, amazed me during our first conversation because our views on why this type of book should be written coincided exactly. I had never heard such an empathic response from an editor, and I chose Temple University Press largely because of Michael. Throughout this project he was insightful and objective, yet showed his essential trust in my judgment, goals, and work methods, for which I am grateful. Parts of this project date back to my dissertation years of the early to mid 1990sa late-life dissertationand to the valuable critical readings of the dissertation committee members Penny MacElveen-Hoehn, Ross V. Speck, Emily Fox Kales, Judith Sanditen, Judith Beth Cohen, and Demetria Iazetto. The origins of the project are even earlier, when Jan Brin, an advocate for self- Page x injuring women, first introduced me to the subject and insisted that self-injury deserves public attention. Jan eventually put me in touch with self-injuring women for interviews, critiqued several chapters, and gave me the idea of including chapters written entirely in women's own voices. Later disagreements ended our communications, and Jan may not share many of the views expressed in this book, which nonetheless owes so much to her. Others who donated their time and expertise by critiquing chapter drafts are Caroline Caswell, Judith Beth Cohen, Michael de Bellis, William Kadish, Deb Martinson, Dennis McCrory, Bradford D. Reich, Kristy Trautmann, and Iris Weaver. Additional people sent studies and gave generously of their time and expertise by phone. My thanks to you all.
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