A must read for anyone you know who has a troubled teenager. A compassionate tale of real life battling the baffling web of mental illness. Learn from and share the roller coaster ride of the mental health system and the internal conflicts of what a mother is to do with a bright and talented son who is haunted by demons that lead him to self injury. A "cutter" can be a pariah to the normal avenues of mental health treatment which leaves you where?
In an of itself, it is a true page turner from the first chapter. A good read that leaves you shaken, yet educated on an area that you may not have been exposed to.

Great read. Roller coaster ride of non-fiction with very helpful insite for parents and family of a child with mental health issues. Highly recommend it.

This is an extremely important book for anyone who cares for someone suffering from mental illness. If you haven't been touched by this disease, you will be touched by one mother's determination, will and love for her child to do what was necessary---even when necessary was heartbreaking. Cutting the soul is an honest,open and emotionally jarring read with the power to offer hope and resources to those who need it and don't know where to turn.

Cutting the Soul by Theresa Larsen is a powerful and emotional memoir of her son's mental illness and her struggles to cope with keeping him safe and well.

The book is an enlightening read for anyone not familiar with self-harming (cutting) and psychosis along with the treatment options available for each. Ultimately, a mixture of parental love and years of treatment helped this young man to cope with his disorder. At times the book was graphic in nature, but only to bring home a point - mental illness is a harsh and unrelenting malady and often takes years to get under control with medication, counseling and a great deal of family support. The message here is to never give up and to remain hopeful even in the darkest moments. Ms. Larsen has shown that there can be a good outcome to years of treatment.

I applaud the author for bringing her story of a mothers' love in dealing with the issues of a mentally ill child to the public.

The emotional story of a mother's overwhelming challenge of mental illness in her teenage son becomes a gripping suspense tale and truly a page turner. The rocky road to find help while awaiting what might well be the next and final episode of self hurting opens a whole new window into this world that few of us have a clue about.

Cutting the Soul: A journey into the mental illness of a teenager through the eyes of his mother by Theresa Larsen was a difficult book to get through. I don't mean writing style, grammar, or something mundane like that. I mean the subject matter. Theresa writes of her year's long battle against her son's mental illness that manifested in cutting and suicidal thoughts.

I could feel how taxed, exasperated, and at wit's end this mother was through the pages. I kept having to check how much was left in the e-book because I was getting to the point where I wasn't sure I could keep going back for more - and I didn't have to live it. How Larsen was able to sit down and relive the darkest of days to actually finish this book is a testament to how devoted she is to helping others who are going through this.

Having been a high school teacher, I am familiar with the different ways kids can "self-harm" - reading this gave me an insight as to just how horrific a cost it is to the entire family. The amount of doctors, facilities, high schools, and medications that had to be juggled were enough to break down even the strongest willed person.

Throughout the book, Larsen refers back to her son's journal, giving everyone a glimpse into the mind of the person who is suffering. These were by far the hardest passages for me to read.
As an outsider, it is easy to look at these kinds of situations and think - "that person just needs to snap out of it" - or - "why don't the parents do something to stop this?" Unfortunately, the answer is neither that simple or logical.

I applaud Larson for putting her story out there for others who might have to travel down this road. If you have a teenager who is depressed or self-harms, this book will let you know that you are not alone. Larsen could literally save you a small fortune by her insights as to what to look for in a facility.

More importantly, this book should give you hope. I am not going to call this a "spoiler," because a happy ending should not "spoil" anyone's day. In the end, Matthew seems to have gotten to a point where things were looking much brighter. There were parts of me preparing to read an end to this story that I really did not want to imagine. To Matthew's credit, along with the Larsen family who supported him along the way, that is a plot line that can hopefully stay forever in the "delete" file.

To Theresa, Matthew, and the rest of your family - my hope is that you may have many more good days than bumps in the road in your future.