Behind the Scars

A collection of poetry, stories and diary excerpts from individuals who have been affected by self-harm. This book aims to raise awareness of self-harm, and to improve the general understanding of this somewhat taboo subject. All authors have, or still do self-harm. Self-harm is a difficult subject to understand, especially for people who have never experienced it personally. So when Kerri's mum Maureen found out her daughter was using self-harm to cope with her difficult emotions, she was at a loss and didn't know what to do to help her. They struggled through for months, not knowing what to do for the best. Professionals couldn't even fully explain why Kerri was harming herself. Nobody understood what they were going through. Eventually, mother and daughter set up a peer support group in 2007, hoping to meet others in similar situations, and "No Secrets" was born. Kerri's self-harm has since improved, and she finally understands more about it through speaking to others who use the same coping mechanism.