# A Bright Red Scream

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1998 book by Marilee Strong

A Bright Red Scream: Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain Cover of the 1st edition Author Marilee Strong Language English Subject Self-harm Published 1998 (Viking Press) Publication place United States Media type Print Pages 232 ISBN 0-670-87781-6 OCLC 39281973 Dewey Decimal 616.8582 LC Class RC552

***A Bright Red Scream: Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain*** is a 1998 non-fiction [psychology](/source/Psychology) book written by American journalist [Marilee Strong](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marilee_Strong&action=edit&redlink=1) about [self-harm](/source/Self-harm). Published by [Viking Press](/source/Viking_Press), it is the first [general interest](/source/General_public) book on self-harm.[1]

## Background

In 1987, American psychiatrist [Armando Favazza](/source/Armando_Favazza) published *[Bodies Under Siege: Self-mutilation in Culture and Psychiatry](/source/Bodies_Under_Siege)*, the first psychiatric text on the subject of self-harm. Marilee Strong was an American journalist who had spent several weeks in [Mozambique](/source/Mozambique) on a [Pulitzer Fellowship](/source/Pulitzer_Fellowship) reporting on the [psychological trauma](/source/Psychological_trauma) experienced by children as a result of the [civil war](/source/Mozambican_Civil_War).[2] When she returned to the United States, she heard about self-harm and decided to research the subject.[2] In 1993, she wrote an article for *[San Francisco Focus](/source/San_Francisco_(magazine))* entitled "A Bright Red Scream", part of a surge in media interest in the topic in the years following the publication of Favazza's book.[3] Strong's was the first in-depth magazine article on self-harm and was the cover story for that issue.[1][2] To research the book, she interviewed over 50 people who intentionally harm themselves, many of them by cutting.[1][4] She also interviewed neuroscientists, psychologists and psychiatrists, including Favazza, a recognised expert on self-harm, and [Bessel van der Kolk](/source/Bessel_van_der_Kolk), a specialist in [posttraumatic stress disorder](/source/Posttraumatic_stress_disorder).[5] The title of the article and book came from an interview with a self-harmer who described the action of self-mutilation as a cry for help, calling it "a bright red scream".[6]

## Subject

Millions of people in the United States regularly engage in self-harm, intentionally injuring themselves.[7] Many of them use sharp objects such as knives, razors or broken glass to cut themselves.[7] Strong set out to find the meaning behind this intentional self-harm, exploring related fields of research like [child abuse](/source/Child_abuse), [addiction](/source/Substance_dependence) and posttraumatic stress disorder.[5]

## Critical reception

Charles R. Swenson reviewed the book for [American Psychiatric Association](/source/American_Psychiatric_Association) journal *[Psychiatric Services](/source/Psychiatric_Services)*. He called it "an illuminating and compassionate book" and said that the "greatest strength of this book is journalistic."[4] Regarding Strong's focus on the childhood psychological trauma experienced by many cutters, he criticised her for neglecting "the nearly 50 percent of self-mutilating individuals who do not report trauma histories".[4] Writing for *[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))*, Tamala M. Edwards called it "a compelling tour of the trauma and science of self-injury".[8]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-SFC_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-SFC_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-SFC_1-2) Rubin, Sylvia (October 11, 1998). ["The Unkindest Cut"](https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/The-Unkindest-Cut-An-estimated-2-million-2986127.php). *[San Francisco Chronicle](/source/San_Francisco_Chronicle)*. Retrieved January 29, 2010.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-pref17_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-pref17_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-pref17_2-2) *A Bright Red Scream*, p. xvii.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-pref13_3-0)** Favazza, Armando. *A Bright Red Scream* (Introduction), p. xiii.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-swenson_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-swenson_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-swenson_4-2) Swenson, Charles R. (September 1999). ["Book Review — A Bright Red Scream: Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain"](http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=83401). *[Psychiatric Services](/source/Psychiatric_Services)* (50): 1234–1235. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1176/ps.50.9.1234](https://doi.org/10.1176%2Fps.50.9.1234). Retrieved January 29, 2010.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-pref16_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-pref16_5-1) *A Bright Red Scream*, p. xvi.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-pref18_6-0)** *A Bright Red Scream*, p. xviii.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-pref15_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-pref15_7-1) *A Bright Red Scream*, p. xv

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Edwards, Tamala M. (June 24, 2001). ["What the Cutters Feel"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110604094230/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,140405,00.html). *[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))*. Archived from [the original](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,140405,00.html) on June 4, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2010.

- Strong, Marilee (1998). [*A Bright Red Scream: Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain*](https://archive.org/details/brightredscreams00stro). [Viking Press](/source/Viking_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-670-87781-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-670-87781-6).

Authority control databases Open Library

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [A Bright Red Scream](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bright_Red_Scream) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bright_Red_Scream?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.