Go Ask Ogre: Letters from a Deathrock Cutter by Jolene Siana, Bonnie McLaughlin, Bonnie McLaughlin (Afterword), Ogre (Foreword by)

Product Details

Synopsis

Go Ask Ogre peers into the world of a misfit "cutter" teen, who, with devastating honesty and deadpan humor, illustrates the horrors of her life and rises above them through confessional letters to the singer of her favorite band.

Passionate, artistic and sensitive, Jolene Siana lived on the impoverished side of the tracks in Toledo, Ohio, with an alcoholic and abusive single mother. At a time when Reagan and heavy metal ruled the Midwest, Jolene's only comfort was found through writing, drawing and immersing herself in a growing post-punk/industrial music scene. A tailspin of suicidal depression and self-injury led her to write Ogre, the frontman for the band Skinny Puppy. He soon began to receive a flood of illustrated letters and journals filled with Jolene's most intimate thoughts.

At a concert, Ogre told Jolene that he saved all her letters and one day would return them. Nine years later, two boxes from Ogre arrived at Jolene's door. Re-examining the documents of her youth was a revelation. She realized that expressing herself through these letters had saved her life.

Go Ask Ogre reveals the truth about growing up "weird" in the 1980s, offering an inspiring update to the traditional teen cautionary tale-this time, a happy ending.

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-When she was 17, Siana wrote a series of letters to punk rocker Ogre, the front man of the '80s band Skinny Puppy. The letters speak of depression and cutting, drug abuse and sex, music and poetry. At one concert, Ogre told her that he saved all her letters and one day would return them. True to his word, two boxes arrived at her door nine years later; inside were illustrated letters and journals filled with her most intimate thoughts and fears. Like most "cutters," those who injure themselves as a physical manifestation of their inner pain, Siana felt powerless as her life spun out of control. Rereading the letters years later, she realized that expressing herself through this way had saved her life. The letters share what it's like to grow up "weird" and how one girl could rise above her background. Almost every page of the book is filled with heartbreaking artwork and photos, which brilliantly link the journal entries and letters together, allowing readers to get a look inside the mind of a very creative but disturbed young woman. At the end of the book is a letter from Siana's therapist and a list of resources for teenagers who may be experiencing the same problems and emotions that the author wrote about.-Erin Dennington, Fairfax County Public Library, Chantilly, VA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Biography

Jolene Siana lives in Los Angeles and spends her time writing, painting, photographing people and traveling to Amsterdam every year.

Bonnie McLaughlin, MA, MFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Burbank, California, since 1990. She specializes in issues related to relationships, parenting, and recovery from childhood abuses.