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 this, however, he endured years of bullying, first at the hands of his older brother and later by his college roommates. He accepted the abuse with a stoicism that defied logic.

Once his low self esteem combined with depression his psychosis was obvious when it resulted in extreme self-injury; this lead to years in the psychiatric wings of hospitals and extensive therapy, including drugs and shock treatments. He freely shares his experiences and all the raw emotions he was feeling, including the thoughts he was dwelling on when his psychosis overtook rational thought.

In some ways I felt like this memoir was almost too open and honest. Some of his sexual experiences weren't necessary to share in much detail. I was also concerned in several places that his descriptions could potentially be a trigger for those inclined to self-harm.

The good news is that Fitzpatrick came back from the edge of oblivion to take his life back and write this book. While the details of his illness and therapy over the years are disturbing and difficult to read, the real story is that, in the end, Fitzpatrick is liberated from his path of destruction and regains his life.


Highly Recommended - but not for the faint hearted.


Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book for review purposes.
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This is a really hard book to read. The author suffers from mental illness (a bipolar disorder among other issues) and from his early 20's for more than a decade he cuts and burns himself and spends long years inside and out of mental institutions. I cannot understand how someone can be as ill as David and yet come through it at the end which is what he did. I guess this is what the book has me struggling to fully comprehend - that someone so ill can eventually get to a place of relative wellness and let go of their harming behaviours. I am amazed by David's honesty and courage in writing this memoir - I hope he never feels the compulsion to self-harm again. ( )