Slices: A Memoir-In-Progress

In "Slices," Violet Wilson looks back at her first years away from home, first at college, then after dropping out, as she struggles to make sense of her urges to cut herself. She doesn't offer neatly wrapped-up explanations of her motivations; the vignettes focus on what she thought and how she felt in the moment. The few dispassionate memories of childhood abuse are not served up as "A-ha!" explanations, since that's not how it felt at the time. There is a lot of confusion, a lot of shame, and a lot of failed attempts to connect. But there are also some patient friends, a couple of morbidly comic moments in a mental hospital and at a funeral, and, by the end, a tiny smidgen of hope that Violet will find her way.