Book review: 'Therapy' by Kathryn Perez

I’m needy.

I’m broken.

Cutting breaks through my numbness, but only opens more wounds.

Depression, self-harm, bullying....that's my reality.

Sex and guys....that's my escape.

The space between the truth and lies is blurred leaving me torn, lost and confused. And while the monsters that live in my head try to beat me-- the two men that I love try to save me.

This is my story of friendship, heartache, and the grueling journey that is mental-illness.

Sometimes you have to get lost in order to be found…

This book broke my heart in a million ways. It's amazingly written, and I hope it opens a lot of people's minds who still think that bullying people, and mental illness are jokes.

Jess's story shows how these things can affect a person's life, how it can bring out the worst in them and how it makes each day a struggle. A constant battle of holding on or letting go. Jess fights until she gives up because she thinks she has no reasons left to fight for, when Jace enters her life. She already knows him, but doesn't know him at all, at the same time. Jace wants to save her, he wants to help her, make right for those he couldn't save and lost in his life.

Jess struggles every day. Cutting, sex and alcohol are her escape, trying to numb the pain. She needs guys, needs their attention, clings to them to feel something until it always becomes too much and she's left alone. Bullied in school; it's her reality, her every day life. Because she's different they bully her, hurt her, make her feel worthless. All she does is try to numb the pain.

“The thin line between pain and pleasure always sits just beneath the surface for me.” - Jess

Kathryn Perez has a way of describing Jess's emotions and her thoughts in a way that keeps you on the edge of your chair. I could barely put this book down.

The story and the ending were nothing I expected. Jess and Jace lose each other due to decisions made out of desperation and fear, and they find each other again when Jess finally has to get help. Jace still tries to save her until he realizes that she needs his pure love, not his need to save her.

Things that no one could have foreseen pull them apart and bring them back together. But there is still this constant struggle between the two. Can Jess leave her fears behind and finally love herself and accept who she is? She needs someone to accept the woman she is, not try to make what she was better. That's where Kingsley comes into the picture. He shows her what love really is, what loving another person feels like. Not because you feel the need to love them, but because you feel it. Just feel.

“He had just kissed the spot that always reminded me of how broken I really was. He still wanted me anyway, and I loved him for it.” - Jess

What made this book extra special for me are the quotes in the beginning of each chapter. Loved it! This book is so deeply sad, but at the same time so wonderfully written that you sometimes forget how sad it really is. The love that is described between the pages is special, and it makes you see that there are different kinds of love. The love that makes you happy, and the love that makes you cling to it because the fear of being alone is bigger than realizing that you are not ready to love someone else before you can accept the person you are, and love that person.

“He doesn't know that my monsters have infected my mind for so long that I no longer know where they end and I begin.” - Jess

In this book I've highlighted so many passages like never before. I'm a total sucker for quotes and this book is full of wonderful words.