The Books That Have Shaped Me: 'Girl in Pieces' SST Guest Post

Girl in Pieces

By Kathleen Glasgow

Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she’s already lost more than most people lose in a lifetime. But she’s learned how to forget. The thick glass of a mason jar cuts deep, and the pain washes away the sorrow until there is nothing but calm. You don’t have to think about your father and the river. Your best friend, who is gone forever. Or your mother, who has nothing left to give you.

Every new scar hardens Charlie’s heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen before you can find your way back from the edge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today, Kathleen Glasgow will be discussing what books that shaped her as a person and a writer.

Please welcome, Kathleen Glasgow!

I wasn’t a big talker growing up. I began, as most writers do, as a reader. One of the very first books I love, love, loved was a book give to me by my aunt Susie called What Bobolino Knew (1971), by Anne Rockwell.  It’s about a young man who knows how to speak to animals, but not much else, which enrages his father. But Bobolino sticks to his guns and his special talent ends up saving an entire village. I still have this book and read it to my kids all the time. This book taught me that there is something special about all of us, even if other people don’t see it right away.

Books have always been my go-to for information on how to “be” in the world. The situation in Judy Blume’s book Blubber, about a group of girls and bullying, mirrored the exact situation I was going through at school at the time, and really helped me to keep it together. As a teen, I found myself falling into depression and I haunted libraries and used bookstores, trying desperately to find myself, or the version of myself that I wanted to be, on the shelves. I tore through The Bell Jar, The Catcher in the Rye, Go Ask Alice. I was also fascinated by music and Hollywood and I devoured biographies of The Doors, Woody Guthrie, Marilyn Monroe, Jean Seberg, and Jean Harlow. I probably know more than I should about the studio system in Hollywood from 1930-1960.  And about Jim Morrison’s particular proclivities. And I was also taking tiny steps into writing, mainly through poetry, because I was reading (and totally NOT understanding) Rimbaud. But then I found Anne Sexton and once you’ve discovered Anne, you simply can’t be the same girl. Ever.

But all of those subjects—music, Hollywood, sadness, poetry—made me the writer (and person) I am today. They befriended me. They helped me tend my wounds, inside and out. They healed me. They showed me paths to being the person I wanted to be, and they showed me how to be at peace with the person I am.   

I wrote Girl in Pieces to be the book-friend that someone can find, whenever, and where ever, they need it.

About the Author:

Kathleen Glasgow lives in Tucson, Arizona. She writes for the radio show The Writer's Almanac and can probably provide you with some interesting anecdotes about historical literary figures if you asked nicely. You can find out more about Kathleen by following her on Twitter @kathglasgow, Instagram @misskathleenglasgow (where she posts about sunsets, depression, spirit circles, and books) or her website: kathleenglasgowbooks.com.

If you or someone you know is struggling and needs help, please consider contacting:

Crisis Text Line: Text START to 741-741

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

To Write Love on Her Arms: https://twloha.com/find-help/local-resources/

National Runaway Hotline: 1-800-621-4000

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This was hosted by the Sunday Street Team. Check it out here!