siana's go ask ogre

When she was 17, Jolene Siana wrote a series of letters to punk rocker Ogre, the front man of the 80s band Skinny Puppy. Jolene’s letters speak of depression and cutting, drug abuse and sex, music and poetry. At one concert, Ogre told Jolene that he saved all her letters and one day would return them. True to his word, two boxes arrive at Jolene’s door nine years later; inside are illustrated letters and journals filled with Jolene's most intimate thoughts and fears. Like most "cutters," those that injure themselves as a physical manifestation of their inner pain, Jolene feels powerless as her life spins out of control. The letters that she writes to Ogre are her only therapy; rereading them years later, Jolene realizes that expressing herself through these letters had saved her life. The letters share what it's like to grow up "weird" and how one girl could rise above her background and grow. Almost every page of the book is filled with Jolene's heartbreaking artwork and photos, which brilliantly link the journal entries and letters together, allowing the reader to get a look inside the mind of a very creative but disturbed young woman. The artwork tends toward the dark -- black and white photos, ink sketches and drawings -- with black being the dominant color. At the end of the book is a letter from Jolene’s therapist and a list of resources for teenagers who may be experiencing the same problems and emotions that Jolene wrote about.