I'll Quit Cutting When You Quit Smoking > Comments > "Review of I'll Quit Cutting When You Quit Smoking"
Piece Comment
Commenter Profile
- Holly Holland
- Username: MOH
- Location: Louisville, KY
- Joined PRX: Aug 19, 2006
Piece Information
- "I'll Quit Cutting When You Quit Smoking"
- Summary: Excerpts from the diary of a girl who insists that self-mutilation is saving her life.
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Review of I'll Quit Cutting When You Quit Smoking
Holly Holland
Posted on September 08, 2006 at 12:29 PM
"No sane person intentionally hurts themselves," April Winburn says in this autobiographical explanation of cutting, a version of self-mutilation that has become disturbingly common among adolescent girls, Her statement is meant to mock the double standards set by the adults in her life, chiefly a chain-smoking mother who rues her daughter's bizarre addiction but won't model the recovery process by ending her own cycle of abuse. The same accusatory tone permeates WInburn's piece and keeps it from rising above the level of adolescent angst. That's unfortunate because Winburn has focused on a topic of great importance to parents, educators, and other youths, and she makes some powerful and intelligent connections. But the lack of outside commentary, research, or a broader context for understanding the practice of cutting causes this documentary to sound more like a recruiting tool than a cautionary tale.
I hope Winburn will continue sharing her impressive voice with us. But first I wish she would concentrate on getting well.