Kathleen Glasgow Speaks


Girl In Pieces is a remarkable narrative. Beautifully lyrical, yet dark and confronting, rarely seen in young adult novels. I commend Kathleen for her courage, composure and her ability to create a character who readers will see themselves within. Charlie's narrative was compelling and I reached out to debut author Kathleen Glasgow about Charlie, her own personal journey and portraying addiction, mental illness and toxic relationships with realism for the teen audience. Thanks for joining me Kathleen and you can read my review for Girl In Pieces here.

Charlie's narrative is confronting but ultimately hopeful and is an extension of your own experiences. For those yet to read Girl In Pieces, can you share your own experience and what inspired you to tell Charlie's story?
From fourteen to my early twenties, I was a a self harmer. I hurt myself because I didn't know how to manage my emotions or depression. I hid my scars for a very long, long time. One day, much later, on my way to work, I saw a girl on the bus with fresh scars on her arms. She was about the age I was when I first started cutting. I let her get off the bus without talking to her and I shouldn't have. Girl in Pieces is my letter to that girl, and to any kid who is harming, or feels alone, or doesn't have a voice.
Girl In Pieces is an incredibly courageous debut novel that also explores addiction. Why do you think it's important for authors to explore mental health and addiction realistically for the teen audience?
Depression, mental health, addiction, assault, it's a crime to think they don't exist for teens or that teens aren't able to handle discussing these issues. How do you think it feels to be fifteen, and the victim of sexual assault, but your school library isn't allowed to stock a novel that might help you through your experience? That's like telling you that you, and your experiences, don't matter. Someone is trying to make you invisible. The realistic side is: you don't just get better because you talk to a doctor, or take a pill. Those things can help, but there's a lot of other work that needs to be done for you to reach a good place, a place you can be safe. You need nonjudgemental friends, you need people who can listen, you need to read books that offer glimmers of hope.
One of the bravest aspects for me was the realism, often when young adult authors tend to romanticise mental illness. Charlie's relationship with Riley was interesting. Do you think with young adult contemporary reads, authors should be more aware of creating romantic interests for characters struggling with mental illness and what should they perhaps be mindful of?
Charlie was always going to fall for Riley. Charlie was always going to fall for someone who picked her, who made her feel special, because she was aching to be seen, to be recognized. You can see this earlier with Ellis. But Riley has his own struggles; it's not a healthy relationship, but it is a realistically portrayed unhealthy relationship between two unhealthy people. Even though Charlie has mental health issues, even though she is worried about her scars, she never stops wanting to be loved, to be touched, to feel pleasure. Just because you are suffering from mental illness does not mean you stop wanting touch, love, companionship, the feel of skin on skin. Even to just have someone hold your hand, just once, for five minutes, can sometimes be the difference between life and death.
With Charlie's narrative being so personal, I can imagine the emotion of revisiting your own experiences. Being a survivor, what does it mean for you to be able to reach teens who may also be currently experiencing feelings of misplacement?
It was difficult to revisit some dark feelings, to let them out of the box. They will never go away. I just know how to manage them now, through a lot of hard work. But I was committed to letting it all out for the book, because I think teens, anyone, really, struggling with harm or depression or loneliness, deserves to have that reality depicted honestly. And I can tell you one hundred million percent that receiving such beautiful, touching, lovely emails and messages from readers has made it all worth it.

About Kathleen

Kathleen Glasgow lives in Tucson, Arizona. She likes Tyrion and Shireen, musty old paperbacks from used bookstores that have cats wandering the aisles, cheesecake, coffee, and the Isle of Skye.

You can find Kathleen via Twitter  Goodreads  Instagram  Facebook and her Website  

12 comments

  1. oh this was a beautiful interview! I loved getting some incite into the story behind Girl In Pieces. It was an incredibly emotional and moving book!!

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    1. It truly was. I was so compelled by Charlie's narrative, one of the most poignant and important books I've read this year.

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  2. Wow.. Interesting interview.. I really like your question :D Now, I want to read Girl in Pieces :D Thank you so much Kelly for sharing :D

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    1. I can't wait to see what you think of it Hana, such a remarkable read!

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  3. Ahhh I love this so much <3 Kathleen Glasgow is basically my hero.

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    1. She someone who speaks so passionately and from experience. I loved chatting with her. Remarkable woman.

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  4. I need to read this one. Lovely interview. I really commend authors who delve into these type of topics in their novels. They are so important, for people that directly relate and for those that can learn to understand empathize with others.

    -Lauren

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    1. I think for most of us who haven't interacted with anyone in that situation, great representation in fiction is so important to be able to develop understanding and empathy. And being told from a place of experience I felt was so important in this instance, it made it all the more compelling.

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  5. Loved this so much, Kelly! When I first read the synopsis of Girl In Pieces four months prior to its release, I knew that I needed to have it in my hands early because the experience was so relatable and called to me. It's really funny because I hunted down all the giveaways for ARCs of the book. I ended up winning two! SO I got my copy and I read it. The most interesting part was that I cried after reading the letter to the reader in the back of the book. I had no idea it was based on Kathleen's experiences, and I felt so grateful to her for sharing her experiences. What I loved most about Girl In Pieces is that it dispelled the most common misconceptions about self harm. I've taken surveys in my school asking students about what they think "self harm" is and the answers were surprising. More than half said that it was when people cut themselves. I WAS LIKE NO. Self harm is not just limited to cutting. Self-harm is any harm a person does unto him/herself. OKay sorry I'm rambling but I really loved this, and if I ever have the guts to meet my savior I'd really like to meet Kathleen in person :D

    Alex @ The Book's Buzz

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    1. So eloquently said Alex and I love the point that you've raised. I think most people who have heard of self harm equate it to cutting but it's truly so much more than that isn't it. Life being so painful that self harm is seen as a release. It's such an important narrative for teens to experience Charlie's story and develop empathy and understanding. It really highlights how fragile the human condition is.

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  6. omfffffff!!!! why haven't I read this book yet dude!?!?!? 😭😭😭😭 GOSH IT SOUNDS SO AMAZING! I really need mental health books atm and this sounds so relatable! 😭😭😭😭😭
    Haniya
    booknauthors.blogspot.com

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    1. It's amazing Haniya, not only did it help me to see how painful life can be but the ultimate hope that empathy, listening and supporting can have on those suffering. It touched me so deeply and I still think of Charlie and Girl In Pieces with so much fondness.

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