Take a deep breath before starting this one because you'll likely be holding it the entire time you're reading. What a beautiful, weighted, perfect story that I didn't know I needed until I read it!

I'm tired of drunk and desperate. I'm tired and angry at me. For letting myself get smaller and smaller in the hopes that he would notice me more. But how can someone notice you if you keep getting smaller?

I absolutely love Charlie. She is anything but perfect. She's messy and a little messed up. Her support system is worse off than she is, at best. So much bad shit has happened in her life and yet, she's still here. She makes it clear: she's not trying to die by suicide. But how do you live when you never really have?

The book starts off with Charlie's hospitalization. Charlie isn't saying a word but her message is loud and clear: bad stuff has happened and her self harming behavior took a turn for the worse. Her body is riddled with scars from cutting and her self-worth is minimal. She's homeless, the walking wounded, and her friends and family have enabled her in some fashion. Upon a too-soon release from the institution, she heads out to a friend's place. From there the story develops into her journey of healing and growth.

I had recently finished Exit, Pursued by a Bear, and was pleasantly surprised by how the main character handled her trauma. I was equally surprised with Girl in Pieces because while Charlie's journey isn't straightforward (it's very much one step forward, two steps back for quite a long time), it's clear she understands what she needs to do and is fumbling through figuring it out. Her small triumphs made me smile and cheer for her. Her backslides made me sad and I hoped for her the way you would a good friend who's struggling.

I remember when the publisher's representative handed me a copy of Girl in Pieces. She told me it was one of the best books coming out this fall and also one of the most emotional releases. She couldn't have been more correct. This is a story of mental health that gets it right, not because the adults are so great and because the person gets what they need (they aren't and she doesn't), but because Charlie navigates through this period of time and comes out at the end. Sometimes that's all you can hope for. And it's enough.