Snowflake Obsidian: Memoir of a Cutter

Snowflake Obsidian: Memoir of a Cutter

ABOUT Kirsten Steadman

Kirsten Steadman
The Hippie received a Masters in Social Work from the University of Utah and worked briefly as a licensed mental health therapist before leaving her job to pursue writing full time. She prefers ice cream in the winter, beanies in the summer and only plays sports when properly guilt tripped More...

Description

Willow is nineteen, naive, and Mormon. She genuinely sucks at having relationships with the opposite sex thanks to her daddy issues. As in she has a dad and wishes she didn’t. Her only perfect relationship is with her best friend Jo. But when Willow and Jo go for the same guy, Willow finds herself friendless and falling in love with a drug addict. Feeling confused, guilty and alone she uses cutting as a way to cope. 

Snowflake Obsidian is a memoir about one girl’s transformation from being naïve due to living in a protected religious culture, to understanding the many faces of love in this paradoxical journey. As Willow enters the world outside her religious ideals she discovers herself in situations she’d never thought possible: Getting a body piercing at a parlor full of sex-toys; purchasing the morning after pill for a friend who had been raped; attending a support group for co-dependents and realizing she has everything in common with them; putting all her faith in a snowflake obsidian stone when she can’t cope with her depression; and living with her boyfriend while trying to remain abstinent on this journey that ultimately illuminates Willow’s dark side which fully allows her to know the light. 
     Willow’s intelligent and humorous voice bluntly shares her story with the perfect blend of nostalgic observance and cynical optimism in this ridiculously funny memoir about life, love, and learning.
 

Like any reasonable young woman, at the age of 21, I decided I needed a formal education and a career. So in June 2004 one week after getting married, I started my undergraduate degree. And like any reasonable young woman who knows she’s going to eventually leave said career to become a mom I declared my major as Social Work. Being the environmentally conscious young woman that I am I rode the bus to school everyday that summer. One day while riding I pulled out my journal (I have over 40 documenting the most tedious details of my life) and began writing Snowflake Obsidian. To this day I’m not sure what possessed me to start telling my story. It took me two years to finish the book, and by that time I had started my graduate degree at the U of U. I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do with Snowflake so it sat, very respectfully, on a shelf collecting dust. I would pick it up from time to time and edit it, send it to friends and family to get feedback, ya know that old thing, but really did nothing else with it. At one point in time I was advised not to publish it because of how it might affect my relationship with my family. That’s when I really had to think about why I had written this book. The answer was clear, yes it was therapeutic, yes I wanted to entertain, but mostly I wanted to inspire. That’s when I knew this was a story I needed to share.

“An absolutely entertaining read, and one I am confident will be going places.” -Derek DonaisMetalMagic: Talisman “Loved every bit of it! It made me laugh, cry, and not stop reading! Word’s can’t express how much I loved this. Seriously. Thank you so much for the amazing read!”-Diane Stiffler It’s Always Been You“I love your lovely, friendly, flippant and hilariously funny voice”.-Leigh Fallon The Carrier of the Mark