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The Pulling
When I’ve been overtaken, I have stood and watched the water in my porridge simmer away into the air, and then the oats turn black and crackle with dryness, and my ears fill with the smoke alarm’s shriek.
When Adele Dumont is diagnosed with trichotillomania — compulsive hair-pulling — it makes sense of much of her life to date. The seemingly harmless quirk of her late teens, which rapidly developed into almost uncontrollable urges and then into trance-like episodes, is a hallmark of the disease, as is the secrecy with which she guarded her condition from her family, friends, and the world at large.
The diagnosis also opens up a rich line of inquiry. Where might the origins of this condition be found? How can we distinguish between a nervous habit and a compulsion? And how do we balance the relief of being ‘seen’ by others with our experience of shame?
Reminiscent of the writing of Leslie Jamison and Fiona Wright, The Pulling is a fascinating exploration of the inner workings of a mind. In perfectly judged prose, both probing and affecting, Dumont illuminates how easily ritual can slide into obsession, and how close beneath the surface horror and darkness can lie.
When Adele Dumont is diagnosed with trichotillomania — compulsive hair-pulling — it makes sense of much of her life to date. The seemingly harmless quirk of her late teens, which rapidly developed into almost uncontrollable urges and then into trance-like episodes, is a hallmark of the disease, as is the secrecy with which she guarded her condition from her family, friends, and the world at large.
The diagnosis also opens up a rich line of inquiry. Where might the origins of this condition be found? How can we distinguish between a nervous habit and a compulsion? And how do we balance the relief of being ‘seen’ by others with our experience of shame?
Reminiscent of the writing of Leslie Jamison and Fiona Wright, The Pulling is a fascinating exploration of the inner workings of a mind. In perfectly judged prose, both probing and affecting, Dumont illuminates how easily ritual can slide into obsession, and how close beneath the surface horror and darkness can lie.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 30, 2024
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229 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 19, 2025
I am very impressed with this memoir, this is a complex and harrowing ordeal which has become this young author's life. The story was long but does go hand in hand with the complexity of what this woman faces at most points of her life. This book talks about an unfathomable phenomenon and a complete way of constantly being on guard, planning every movement and thought, spinning at all times.
I felt so much familiarity in relation to the part of Sydney what were discussed, where the author went to school and the place of her childhood, even the local shops. There were other eerie similarities such as the many references to other authors who I immediately recognised not only by the titles of their book, a couple of them share my workplace. I have a keen interest in addiction stories, so the names caused instant light bulb moments.
There are many issues this author unpacked in telling her story, and these relate directly to much of her childhood, causing me to reflect on my own and the way I parent. The author struggles so much with the why and how, and my impression is that she will never really know why she pulls her hair, and the myriad of ways this turns into an all consuming part of her life. It is all consuming, she's told her story with immense honesty opening her life to intense scrutiny in doing so. The rhythms she follows, the internal grief and shame is almost overwhelming to fathom at times.
I did find the book to be quite long, and the reliance of all the quotes by other author's quite intense, but they did hold a firm place in explaining others' addictions. I didn't agree with a comment on alcoholism which she made in comparing the two addictions, but there is so much to this story I am impressed with the strength possessed to release her memoir. Serious yet compelling reading.
With thanks to Scribe publishing for my review copy.
I felt so much familiarity in relation to the part of Sydney what were discussed, where the author went to school and the place of her childhood, even the local shops. There were other eerie similarities such as the many references to other authors who I immediately recognised not only by the titles of their book, a couple of them share my workplace. I have a keen interest in addiction stories, so the names caused instant light bulb moments.
There are many issues this author unpacked in telling her story, and these relate directly to much of her childhood, causing me to reflect on my own and the way I parent. The author struggles so much with the why and how, and my impression is that she will never really know why she pulls her hair, and the myriad of ways this turns into an all consuming part of her life. It is all consuming, she's told her story with immense honesty opening her life to intense scrutiny in doing so. The rhythms she follows, the internal grief and shame is almost overwhelming to fathom at times.
I did find the book to be quite long, and the reliance of all the quotes by other author's quite intense, but they did hold a firm place in explaining others' addictions. I didn't agree with a comment on alcoholism which she made in comparing the two addictions, but there is so much to this story I am impressed with the strength possessed to release her memoir. Serious yet compelling reading.
With thanks to Scribe publishing for my review copy.
March 24, 2024
The Pulling is a fascinating window into Dumont's day-to-day life and philosophical reckoning with her lived reality. She has an admirable self-awareness, and shows remarkable openness to vulnerability in sharing her secret. This memoir is a stark reminder of the secret battles fought by those around us.
My full review of The Pulling is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
My full review of The Pulling is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
January 31, 2024
Opening with a disclosure about her fingernails, readers picking up The Pulling quickly discover that Australian author Adele Dumont is extending an invitation to join her in exploring her deepest darkest thoughts, warts, fingernails and all. Dumont even tries to warn sensitive readers:
"Before I go on, let me say that the chapters that follow this one may be hard for you to bear; unless you are of my kind, doing what I do would hurt you." Page 49
In a deeply personal memoir that can also be read as a collection of essays and vice versa, author Adele Dumont shares that she has trichotillomania (from the Greek word for hair + pull + mania), however she never uses the word. Instead, she prefers to call it pulling in order to highlight the physical nature of the act and the mental pull of the urge; hence the title of this book.
"The whole process was mysteriously painless: the hairs on my head, I learned quickly, sit as shallowly as birthday candles in a cake, can be removed as effortlessly as a grape can from its stem." Page 49
As you can see, the writing is evocative, yet the private thoughts regarding her upbringing and relationship with her mother and sister often gave me pause on the page as I marvelled at her self awareness and deep level of disclosure. Many reminiscences were tough, but this one made me smile in recognition:
"She scorned the kind of parents who fed their kids anything too processed or frozen or coloured. When my sister wanted devon for her lunches like all the other kids, my mum would screw up her face and tell her: 'They make that stuff out of embryos.' She didn't seem to trust the kind of people who bought play-dough or birthday cakes from the shops instead of making them from scratch..." Page 24-25
The Pulling is an intimate self examination of habit, ritual, compulsion and obsession without slipping into pointless navel gazing or devolving into a pity party. In an intensely personal narrative, Dumont attempts to explain her detailed thought process before, during and after a session of pulling, the affects it has on her physical body, her confidence levels and self esteem.
When describing the feeling of being in the pulling state, Dumont shares:
"So captive is this state that from within it I have watched my phone ring on the carpet beside me, but been incapable of reaching across to pick it up. In my laundry, which adjoins the lounge room, once I accidentally forgot to unplug the sink that the machine drains into, and listened to the sink fill then flood, knowing - at some level - that it must be seeping into the carpet, but helpless to interrupt it. When I've been overtaken, I have stood and watched water in my porridge simmer away into the air, and then the oats turn black and crackle with dryness, and my ears fill with the smoke alarm's shriek." Page 72
I can't even begin to imagine how paralysing this must be and just how debilitating the condition is. Exploring a topic that brings us shame and examining the matter from all sides within the relatively safe confines of our own minds is admirable, but to put pen to paper and share them with the world takes immense courage and I was in awe.
At times reading like a diary or confessional, I did find myself wondering why the aspect of alopecia wasn't explored. If I noticed a friend or colleague with a patch of missing hair or an ill fitting hair piece, I would - incorrectly in this case of course - assume it was alopecia and move on. I wouldn't ask questions to clarify my assumption, judge the person negatively or bring attention to their condition in the same way I wouldn't comment if a person has visible vitiligo or male pattern baldness. I wish the author had considered this as a reason she was never 'confronted' or 'outed' by those close to her; although I'm prepared to accept that perhaps she has and it just didn't make the final edit.
The Pulling was hard going at times, strictly due to the intensely personal nature of the disclosures and the feelings they stirred up. In reading the author's accounts, I found myself better understanding the mental gymnastics underlying other compulsions like gambling which was insightful. Dumont is optimistic about the future, trying to reduce her triggers and pull less:
"Here is the basic truth: I wanted to stop pulling, but I also wanted to pull. And one of these desires was always stronger than the other." Page 183
I can certainly relate to the contradictory nature of our thoughts and how some desires are in direct conflict with others; the desire to be healthy and the desire to eat foods that don't aid in the achievement of that goal. The pleasing introduction of a life partner and their close relationship with the author gives the reader hope M will be able to provide the strength and support she needs:
"I had long thought of the hypervigilance and deception my condition required as being a barrier to intimacy. But now I saw another dimension to my secret: its disclosure could be a means of offering intimacy." Page 239
Dumont shares many personal epiphanies and self discoveries and I applaud her courage in making them public. I also found myself wondering how it will be received by those who know the author well while hoping it aids in her healing. This collection won't be for all readers, but there's much to be gained within the pages of The Pulling by Adele Dumont and I won't be forgetting it in a hurry.
* Copy courtesy of Scribe Publications *
"Before I go on, let me say that the chapters that follow this one may be hard for you to bear; unless you are of my kind, doing what I do would hurt you." Page 49
In a deeply personal memoir that can also be read as a collection of essays and vice versa, author Adele Dumont shares that she has trichotillomania (from the Greek word for hair + pull + mania), however she never uses the word. Instead, she prefers to call it pulling in order to highlight the physical nature of the act and the mental pull of the urge; hence the title of this book.
"The whole process was mysteriously painless: the hairs on my head, I learned quickly, sit as shallowly as birthday candles in a cake, can be removed as effortlessly as a grape can from its stem." Page 49
As you can see, the writing is evocative, yet the private thoughts regarding her upbringing and relationship with her mother and sister often gave me pause on the page as I marvelled at her self awareness and deep level of disclosure. Many reminiscences were tough, but this one made me smile in recognition:
"She scorned the kind of parents who fed their kids anything too processed or frozen or coloured. When my sister wanted devon for her lunches like all the other kids, my mum would screw up her face and tell her: 'They make that stuff out of embryos.' She didn't seem to trust the kind of people who bought play-dough or birthday cakes from the shops instead of making them from scratch..." Page 24-25
The Pulling is an intimate self examination of habit, ritual, compulsion and obsession without slipping into pointless navel gazing or devolving into a pity party. In an intensely personal narrative, Dumont attempts to explain her detailed thought process before, during and after a session of pulling, the affects it has on her physical body, her confidence levels and self esteem.
When describing the feeling of being in the pulling state, Dumont shares:
"So captive is this state that from within it I have watched my phone ring on the carpet beside me, but been incapable of reaching across to pick it up. In my laundry, which adjoins the lounge room, once I accidentally forgot to unplug the sink that the machine drains into, and listened to the sink fill then flood, knowing - at some level - that it must be seeping into the carpet, but helpless to interrupt it. When I've been overtaken, I have stood and watched water in my porridge simmer away into the air, and then the oats turn black and crackle with dryness, and my ears fill with the smoke alarm's shriek." Page 72
I can't even begin to imagine how paralysing this must be and just how debilitating the condition is. Exploring a topic that brings us shame and examining the matter from all sides within the relatively safe confines of our own minds is admirable, but to put pen to paper and share them with the world takes immense courage and I was in awe.
At times reading like a diary or confessional, I did find myself wondering why the aspect of alopecia wasn't explored. If I noticed a friend or colleague with a patch of missing hair or an ill fitting hair piece, I would - incorrectly in this case of course - assume it was alopecia and move on. I wouldn't ask questions to clarify my assumption, judge the person negatively or bring attention to their condition in the same way I wouldn't comment if a person has visible vitiligo or male pattern baldness. I wish the author had considered this as a reason she was never 'confronted' or 'outed' by those close to her; although I'm prepared to accept that perhaps she has and it just didn't make the final edit.
The Pulling was hard going at times, strictly due to the intensely personal nature of the disclosures and the feelings they stirred up. In reading the author's accounts, I found myself better understanding the mental gymnastics underlying other compulsions like gambling which was insightful. Dumont is optimistic about the future, trying to reduce her triggers and pull less:
"Here is the basic truth: I wanted to stop pulling, but I also wanted to pull. And one of these desires was always stronger than the other." Page 183
I can certainly relate to the contradictory nature of our thoughts and how some desires are in direct conflict with others; the desire to be healthy and the desire to eat foods that don't aid in the achievement of that goal. The pleasing introduction of a life partner and their close relationship with the author gives the reader hope M will be able to provide the strength and support she needs:
"I had long thought of the hypervigilance and deception my condition required as being a barrier to intimacy. But now I saw another dimension to my secret: its disclosure could be a means of offering intimacy." Page 239
Dumont shares many personal epiphanies and self discoveries and I applaud her courage in making them public. I also found myself wondering how it will be received by those who know the author well while hoping it aids in her healing. This collection won't be for all readers, but there's much to be gained within the pages of The Pulling by Adele Dumont and I won't be forgetting it in a hurry.
* Copy courtesy of Scribe Publications *
September 19, 2025
The Pulling is intense. But not because it is graphic, but rather because of the unflinching focus on her own mind that Dumont delivers, all wrapped in a dreamlike, elegant prose. Dumont takes us into her obsession as it plays out to be her, seguing between memoir of her difficult family life, in a quest to understand the tricky nature of control, and the permutations of shame. She warns that the material might be uncomfortable - and it is - but not, I think, because of the invocation of disgust or pity that she fears. We can all recognise, I suspect, the dynamics of self-illusion (this time I will be able to control it) and the radiating, almost impossible to cope, experiences of shame and the terror of others' disgust. Dumont provides no answers here, but there is such sustenance in the agonised and exhausted honesty. There is, I think, a catharsis in the act of sharing the things we don't talk about. I found myself desperately pleased to have read The Pulling, just as I was relieved to finish it. It is as if something has shifted in my own private shames, and the sense of how we isolate ourselves around things that should bind us.
February 5, 2025
this book was so good that I recommended it to my therapist. thought-provoking, reflective for both the writer and the reader, and frankly a little bit life-changing too.
September 21, 2024
"The singular thing that makes me feel like a creature freed is proof that I am a creature caged."
This line alone deserves its whole own star. And the discussions and descriptions of trichotillomania are such an important addition to the badass canon of women giving language to the illnesses and idiosyncrasies–and pain–they have suffered from for so many years. However, entitling them a collection of essays did nothing to give them the cohesion that I felt like was missing. There was too much of a sense of incompleteness. I could not fully reconcile myself with the big jumps in content, on one hand, and the sometimes repetitiveness on the other.
This line alone deserves its whole own star. And the discussions and descriptions of trichotillomania are such an important addition to the badass canon of women giving language to the illnesses and idiosyncrasies–and pain–they have suffered from for so many years. However, entitling them a collection of essays did nothing to give them the cohesion that I felt like was missing. There was too much of a sense of incompleteness. I could not fully reconcile myself with the big jumps in content, on one hand, and the sometimes repetitiveness on the other.
January 31, 2024
This book is absolutely amazing!
Adele has crafted a book that is raw, honest, emotional and beautiful. She brings you entirely into her world and her life and shares what feels like her whole self with the reader.
Adele has crafted a book that is raw, honest, emotional and beautiful. She brings you entirely into her world and her life and shares what feels like her whole self with the reader.
May 23, 2024
I found this book super repetitive, Adele explained your experience in a number of different ways which maybe makes it accessible for more Readers however I found this dull. Her story however is super fascinating and I admire her journey.
February 22, 2024
3.5 - good but just a bit long to sit with the topic for me.
June 2, 2024
'I'm ashamed too of how my compulsions have got so out of hand and have expanded to be such a large part of 'me'. I'm ashamed that I am unable to stop. And, maybe most painfully of all, I'm ashamed of my own shame. We're encouraged, now, to feel pride towards those aspects of our identities that might in times past have been deemed shameful (our fatness, our sexuality, our kinks) but I am so stuck with my shame. It feels socially unacceptable; taboo; as though it belongs to an earlier, medieval time.'
I picked up Dumont's The Pulling by chance while visiting some friends, it had not been on my radar but I am so very glad that I decided to buy it. Dumont does a fantastic job at balancing the complicated topic of her own experience with trichotillomania (or 'pulling' as she has labeled it) with a broader overview of addiction while exploring the shame and secrecy that so often prevents people from seeking help with their compulsions. She presents a dichotomy in which a desire to stop destructive behaviour can often clash with the struggle to reconcile ones identity without that particular behaviour.
She has here a love letter and a confession of how shame can become all consuming, how it can dictate every aspect of life both private and public. I was particularly struck by the lengths to which she goes to hide her shame when moving around in public spaces, her every move calculated to avoid scrutiny all while questioning if what she is doing even works. In one ear she seems to revel in her ability to hide and in the other she doubts whether her systems of secrecy even work.
In her private life too she appears to exhaust herself trying to balance the care she carries for her loved ones and a desire to keep them at arms length so as not to burden them with her sorrows. Her raw honesty about the love and fear she holds for her mother brought me to tears. Her keen awareness of generational trauma is something I deeply admired her for putting on display because it showcases her acute understanding that her compulsions and emotions are not happening in a vacuum but rather in a chain of events, even if it is challenging to pin down exactly how that chain is put together.
Ultimately, I took this book as an exploration in the duality of life. Rarely, if ever, can our lives be experienced as a set of binary feelings and actions, it is angular and soft, it is a desire to be seen and a wish to be hidden away, it is love and fear. Even if you do not suffer from a compulsion as demanding as Dumont's, I believe this book will have something for anyone who has at some point experienced the heaviness of shame and the desire to define the shame in the context of identity. I would wager that applies to just about all of us.
I picked up Dumont's The Pulling by chance while visiting some friends, it had not been on my radar but I am so very glad that I decided to buy it. Dumont does a fantastic job at balancing the complicated topic of her own experience with trichotillomania (or 'pulling' as she has labeled it) with a broader overview of addiction while exploring the shame and secrecy that so often prevents people from seeking help with their compulsions. She presents a dichotomy in which a desire to stop destructive behaviour can often clash with the struggle to reconcile ones identity without that particular behaviour.
She has here a love letter and a confession of how shame can become all consuming, how it can dictate every aspect of life both private and public. I was particularly struck by the lengths to which she goes to hide her shame when moving around in public spaces, her every move calculated to avoid scrutiny all while questioning if what she is doing even works. In one ear she seems to revel in her ability to hide and in the other she doubts whether her systems of secrecy even work.
In her private life too she appears to exhaust herself trying to balance the care she carries for her loved ones and a desire to keep them at arms length so as not to burden them with her sorrows. Her raw honesty about the love and fear she holds for her mother brought me to tears. Her keen awareness of generational trauma is something I deeply admired her for putting on display because it showcases her acute understanding that her compulsions and emotions are not happening in a vacuum but rather in a chain of events, even if it is challenging to pin down exactly how that chain is put together.
Ultimately, I took this book as an exploration in the duality of life. Rarely, if ever, can our lives be experienced as a set of binary feelings and actions, it is angular and soft, it is a desire to be seen and a wish to be hidden away, it is love and fear. Even if you do not suffer from a compulsion as demanding as Dumont's, I believe this book will have something for anyone who has at some point experienced the heaviness of shame and the desire to define the shame in the context of identity. I would wager that applies to just about all of us.
January 31, 2024
Adele Dumont's 'The Pulling' is, for me, the most valuable resource on trichotillomania that I have come across.
Dumont delves into her experience with this condition with - at times disarming - candour.
I, too, have been diagnosed with trichotillomania (a name that Dumont substitutes with the far less clinical and easier to pronounce 'pulling'). Despite living with it, I know very little about the condition due to a limitation of resource - an irony considering, as Dumont states, it has more diagnosed cases than bipolar (which I also have!)
Recently myself and my co-host interviewed Adele on our podcast, and it was a privilege to speak on her book, this shame-inducing condition, and to finally meet a fellow puller.
It has always been difficult for me to put into words exactly what the compulsion feels like. 'The Pulling' lays it out elegantly (and harrowingly) in a way that will be understandable to all who read it. It is as much of a vitally important account on an underrepresented and shame-inducing condition, as it is a gift of vulnerability, intimacy, and abundant empathy.
Dumont delves into her experience with this condition with - at times disarming - candour.
I, too, have been diagnosed with trichotillomania (a name that Dumont substitutes with the far less clinical and easier to pronounce 'pulling'). Despite living with it, I know very little about the condition due to a limitation of resource - an irony considering, as Dumont states, it has more diagnosed cases than bipolar (which I also have!)
Recently myself and my co-host interviewed Adele on our podcast, and it was a privilege to speak on her book, this shame-inducing condition, and to finally meet a fellow puller.
It has always been difficult for me to put into words exactly what the compulsion feels like. 'The Pulling' lays it out elegantly (and harrowingly) in a way that will be understandable to all who read it. It is as much of a vitally important account on an underrepresented and shame-inducing condition, as it is a gift of vulnerability, intimacy, and abundant empathy.
February 28, 2024
This book was truly fascinating. I couldn't put it down. Dumont's unflinching and detailed observations of her own behaviours and her examinations of the context in which they occur allows/gives permission to the reader to feel and acknowledge their own 'compulsivities' and to recognise the patterns of self-defeating behaviours that we are all heir to. In this way the book has much wider relevance than the subject might imply. The book is beautifully written and I recommend it highly.
March 9, 2024
It's not often I'm truly floored by a book. Dumont's intensely personal collection of essays centring her, once secret, compulsion to pull her own hair is that rare combination of intensely vulnerable and exquisitely written. As a book of essays it excels as a writing masterclass, but it's what Dumont brings to the writing -- the way she lays bare how this mental illness has ravaged her scalp and her life, yet is so much a part of her -- that elevates this book into a class of its own.
May 23, 2024
An excellent book about this illness, rarely explored and so unknown to the public at large... I want to say a big thank you to Adele Dumont for this. It confirmed to me there was no cure and explained some of the possible reasons for the condition.
On the down side, it is rather lengthy, especially for those who don't have the illness and whose interest in the topic is therefore limited I imagine...
On the down side, it is rather lengthy, especially for those who don't have the illness and whose interest in the topic is therefore limited I imagine...
July 20, 2024
I’ve lived with trichotillomania for as long as I can remember and I know now that it will always be a part of my life. This book made me feel seen and validated in ways I haven’t before. She found the words to truly capture so many of the sometimes conflicting feelings I’ve never fully been able to verbalize - the shame, relief, self-loathing, loss of control, comfort, loneliness. I’m glad I read this book.
October 2, 2024
Loved this memoir.
While I had a vested interest (I'm a fellow Trichotillomania sufferer), I found Adele's journey both engaging and illuminating. One part memoir and another part voyage of discovery, as Adele navigates her compulsions and looks for parallels in other, sometimes unintuitively similar, areas.
Very much looking forward to tracking down the author's other memoir about her experiences teaching English to men in immigration detention.
While I had a vested interest (I'm a fellow Trichotillomania sufferer), I found Adele's journey both engaging and illuminating. One part memoir and another part voyage of discovery, as Adele navigates her compulsions and looks for parallels in other, sometimes unintuitively similar, areas.
Very much looking forward to tracking down the author's other memoir about her experiences teaching English to men in immigration detention.
December 25, 2023
I was a big fan of Adele Dumont's first book and was lucky to receive an advance copy of The Pulling.
The writing in this book is so powerful and smooth which makes it impossible to put it down.
Extremely moving.
The writing in this book is so powerful and smooth which makes it impossible to put it down.
Extremely moving.
February 28, 2024
A beautifully vulnerable exploration of a condition that’s not yet well known, but reminded me of the secrecy and forbidden-ness of other compulsions.
While hair pulling might not be a condition everyone can relate to, I found that in the unraveling of this condition, it was familiar.
While hair pulling might not be a condition everyone can relate to, I found that in the unraveling of this condition, it was familiar.
June 26, 2025
Beautifully written memoir that really plunged me into the depths of this baffling illness.
Admittedly the storyline doesn’t really develop from start to finish, but it’s a fascinating reveal nonetheless.
Admittedly the storyline doesn’t really develop from start to finish, but it’s a fascinating reveal nonetheless.
April 1, 2024
Beautifully written, unflinchingly honest, brave and insightful
Read
May 3, 2024"Is this my illness talking? It's hard to know anymore"
June 26, 2024
This book was incredible. The author's vulnerability and the detail she gives make it such a unique, important and beautiful book.
October 31, 2025
Honest, raw and truly refreshing to read.
November 20, 2025
Adele gave me a fascinating insight into her condition, really opened it up for me. The writing is often beautifully lucid, then sometimes dreamy, and always thoughtful, even philosophical.
January 30, 2024
Pulling out just one shaft of hair at a time always felt so insignificant, something imperceptible. Who could notice one strand missing from a whole, overly thick head of hair?I’ve never known anyone who compulsively pulls their hair out. I mean, I probably have because an estimated 2% of the population have trichotillomania, but shame keeps it hidden in plain sight.
Hair pulling is not even something that makes a whole lot of sense, even to those who live with it.
I am struggling to translate all this to you; when I am not in the midst of it I myself struggle to fathom it. Such is the strangeness of all this that - once I have returned to the world - I find it difficult to contemplate or believe in its subsuming power.Logic would say that pulling your hair out couldn’t possibly help anything. For people with trichotillomania, though, it does (in the moment at least) and that makes it even more confounding.
It’s such a well kept secret that most people haven’t heard of it. Even amongst those who compulsively pull their hair, there’s isolation. Yet, despite this, there are commonalities.
We all like to think we’re unique but one of the fascinating things about trichotillomania is that it looks similar across sufferers, including those who don’t yet know there’s a word for it. Who knew that there’s a hierarchy of hair, that it’s not just about pulling hair but the right hair? Why do people who pull do so in a predictable pattern? When hardly anyone is talking about this, how are there so many common denominators?
I’m not the biggest fan of the medical model when it’s applied to mental health. It can result us taking on a diagnosis as our identity and with the amount of time people can spend pulling, it’s not hard to see how this happens but it makes me uncomfortable.
This is a brave book. Because, as I’ve mentioned, people simply don’t talk about this. Because there’s so much shame attached to it.
This is a painful book. It hurts to witness, even from a distance, the struggle Adele experiences every day.
This is an important book. Brené Brown says it better than I ever could: “If you put shame in a petri dish, it needs three ingredients to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence, and judgement. If you put the same amount of shame in the petri dish and douse it with empathy, it can’t survive.”
I love memoirs. There’s something special about being invited into someone’s life and having them share some of their innermost thoughts. Adele Dumont, in sharing her experience, is shining a light on trichotillomania. Shame and secrets don’t do so well in the light.
Content warnings include mention of .
Thank you so much to Scribe Publications for the opportunity to read this book.
Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com
July 6, 2024
This book is about a woman telling her story of her obsession with pulling her hair. Throughout the book she would describe her condition and would use instances of pulling her hair off her scalp. So by the end she would go to a doctor for her condition and gets a boyfriend name M, so this book is very good and worth reading
December 28, 2024
Devoured this book.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews