Cut by Patricia McCormick

         In the book Cut, by Patricia McCormick, the main character Callie makes a decision to speak up to her therapist and in group therapy. The book Cut is about a girl, Callie, who cuts herself. She gets an adrenaline high from cutting herself, and she is sent to a treatment facility called Sea Pines, filled with girls struggling with their own problems, such as substance abuse and eating disorders. Callie wants nothing to do with them, and is mute for most of her stay. But many difficult events happen to Callie, and she realizes that she has no choice but to speak up. For example, a girl in Callie’s group nearly starves herself to death and a girl who cuts herself comes to Sea Pines. Callie grows to love Sea Pines, and she begins to think of it as a sanctuary, even a home: “‘Well.’ A sort of smile passes over her face. ‘I’m glad you came back.’ ‘Me too.’ I suddenly mean this with all my heart.” Callie’s antagonist, though she didn’t know it, was her voice, and she made an arduous decision to speak up and use the unknown power of her speech.

         There were many things that influenced Callie to speak, but mostly there were two very important things. One of the important things was Becca, an anorexic, dysfunctional girl who had a heart attack. Callie had witnessed Becca vomiting in the bathroom, but she never told anyone. Callie had finally been talking to her therapist, and that was a big milestone of accomplishment for her, but she still hadn’t spoken up in Group. Becca’s caretaker Debbie became very melancholy and thought it was all her fault that Becca nearly died, Callie finally speaks: “Debbie turns to look at me. “‘What did you say?’ she whispers. ‘It’s not your fault,’ I say. ‘About Becca.’” She became very concerned for Becca’s health and she regretted not telling the members of her group. Something snapped inside of Callie. Another thing that helped Callie was her therapist: Callie’s therapist was the one person she really confided in at her stay in Sea Pines, and she was a huge source of encouragement. She said her voice was really not her archenemy, but really her friend:  “‘But Callie.’ Your voice is so quiet; I have to stop counting a minute to hear it. ‘You’d have so much more power… if you would speak’” Her therapist made her more confident at Sea Pines. Callie’s difficult decision of speaking up was made possible by her therapist and Becca’s health decline.

        The decision that Callie made to speak drastically changed her life. It changed her life because Callie became more sanguine at Sea Pines. She felt more comfortable and made friends with her roommate Sydney and a bashful anorexic girl named Tara. She got depressed at one point and nearly cut herself again, but she ended up giving the piece of metal to her therapist. She wanted to get better and go back to her old reality: “‘I want to get better.’ My dad starts patting his pockets like he’s looking for something. But I know he’s just trying to do something so he doesn’t cry.” If Callie hadn’t chosen to speak, she would still be maltreating herself and not being very productive. She would eventually “graduate” from Sea Pines, but she would still cut herself, and sooner or later maybe she could have met her demise if she kept on doing that. So the decision Callie made to speak changed her life in a positive way.

          Callie’s decision had a very big impact on her peers. When she was speaking to Debbie, she convinced Debbie that it really wasn’t her fault and she didn’t need to feel so guilty. She really rescued Debbie from staying Sea Pines for an extended amount of time because grief. Also, even though Callie had been too miserable to notice, not only her therapist wanted her to speak. People in her group like Tara and Sydney were trying to encourage her to not cut herself and to speak: “Sydney sighs. ‘Just don’t, you know… please don’t hurt yourself.’ Tears, warm and sudden, sting the corners of my eyes, but I don’t cry” People in group were really rooting for Callie all the way, but she didn’t really feel sentimental about Sea Pines until the end. Her group members never excluded Callie and they wanted to help her as much as her therapist did. They were very dedicated and were happy when she decided to speak. So, Callie’s decision to speak really impacted her group members’ lives.

          In the book Cut, by Patricia McCormick, the main character Callie makes a labored decision to speak to her group members. Her decision impacted her life and her peers, and the decision was influenced by so many people. Even though throughout the book Callie is a character who is oblivious to what could really happen to herself if she kept on cutting herself and didn’t speak. By the end, even though she didn’t really state it, she’s more aware because she gives her therapist the strip of metal. She doesn’t want to be that person. In conclusion, Callie made onerous decision to talk at Sea Pines.