Sharp: A Memoir

With “unsparing intensity” and “hard-won self-knowledge,” this memoir of mental illness and recovery is “a must read, remarkably told”(Wally Lamb, #1 New York Times bestselling author of I Know This Much is True).“Endorphins sped through me. I spun around, growing dizzy, frantic, and silly. I wasn’t drunk, but I felt a nice stoned feeling, sans paranoia, and I thought, ‘I believe I’ve found my new pharmaceutical deep inside.’ I giggled fearlessly, manically at this and looked down at myself; hands, arms, chest, and belly covered in crimson . . .”Sharp is the story of David Fitzpatrick who, in his early twenties, became so consumed by mental illness it sent him into a frenzy of cutting himself with razor blades. In this shocking and often moving book, he vividly describes the rush this act gave him, the fleeting euphoric high that seemed to fill the spaces in the rest of his life. Fitzpatrick’s youth seemed ideal. He was athletic, handsome, and intelligent. However, he lived in fear of an older brother who belittled him; and in college, his roommates teased and humiliated him. As he shares these experiences, Fitzpatrick also recounts the lessons learned from the broken people he encountered during his journey—knowledge that led to his own emotional resurrection.With prose that is tough and gritty, profound and insightful, Sharp is a tale of hope, a soul-baring quest of a lost man who returns to himself, overcomes his demons, and reclaims his life. “A courageously honest book.” —Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man and The Astral “Riveting . . . Sharp cuts deep into your heart.” —Michael White, author of Beautiful Assassin and Soul Catcher