I created him in 1992, because I had an interest in ritual from the works of Joseph Campbell, and as a response to my own experience of self-injury. When I started writing I had no idea that he would turn into the character he has now become, or that he would eventually reignite my curiosity about others who injured themselves.
SI externalises emotion in a concrete, apparently controllable way.
My own answer has been The Dinner Party , and talking through what I did with my parents. Others are detailed below. If you're a self-injurer, or you know someone who does it, there is a list of help resources at the end. Rachel is sixteen years old, and cuts herself. When she's finished, she stems the blood flow with toilet paper and carefully bandages the wounds.