"While some young adults seem to thrive on adversity, others wilt under the strain and opt for less productive means of coping. Millions of American teenagers and college students deliberately injure themselves as a way of handling stress. They cut, burn, break, and poison their bodies, seeking physical pain as a means to avoid emotional pain ... In this book, Cummings defines self-injury as it is understood by the medical community and examines the causes of self-harm"--Amazon.com.