You Remind Me of You by Eireann Corrigan

Here's the book on Amazon.

You Remind Me of You really fascinated me. For one, it is a collection of poetry that also functions as a memoir. It is also a non-fiction account of a woman who has survived an eating disorder and gone on to be a successful author. She has been in and out of treatment facilities and is not expected to have a long life. She has been to the brink of death and back and has been through mental and emotional hell. Her boyfriend has attempted suicide and she needs to learn to cope with his pain as well as her own.

Normally, a story line so dramatic might cause me to put the book down, but the way the poetry cleverly and artistically strings together Corrigan's story makes it a worthwhile read. It is written with a raw honesty and candor that I really appreciate and I think students will too. I will certainly recommend this book to students in my classroom for a free read and, if appropriate, I use the text in the classroom curriculum.

I like that this book can have many applications. It connects to adolescents because of it's incredibly strong voice, but it is also a good example of different literary styles. Combining poetry and memoir is interesting and seems like a good concept to introduce to the class. This book gets my seal of approval for both casual reading and classroom use.