Kathleen Glasgow’s fictional book “Girl in Pieces” explores themes of trauma, recovery, and self-discovery. The story follows 17-year-old Charlotte “Charlie” Davis, a girl who has experienced immense pain, including the death of her father, her mother’s neglect, and losing her best friend to suicide. Struggling to cope, Charlie turns to self-harm as a way to manage her emotional turmoil. After a particularly traumatic event lands her in a mental health facility, Charlie embarks on a journey to rebuild her life. She relocates to Tucson, Arizona, where she begins working at a coffee shop. There, she meets an eclectic group of people, including Blue, a tough yet supportive co-worker, and Riley, her brooding but troubled boss. These relationships become pivotal in her journey toward healing.
“You think you know someone in the sunlight, but you don’t. There’s something about the dark that makes people lie. You can see their faces but not their hearts. You can hear their words but not their thoughts. And sometimes the dark makes us strangers to ourselves, too.” (pg. 178)
I chose this quotation because It is something I think about constantly. You truly never know what someone is feeling or thinking. You think you know someone when, in reality, they could be the complete opposite of what you think they are like.