The Disability Book Archive

[ID: A book cover. There is a black box in the lower centre. Dark yellow text in the box reads: the title “Kissing Doorknobs” in large caps, and the author’s name “Terry Spencer Hesser” in smaller caps directly below this. At the bottom of the cover in smaller writing, text reads “With an afterword by A. J. Allen, M.D., Ph.D.”. The cover shows various colourful depictions of lips and hands, surrounded by a black border. /end]

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Content Warning:

• Child Abuse
• Self-Harm
• Disordered Eating

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Summary:

During her preschool years, Tara Sullivan lived in terror that something bad would happen to her mother while they were apart. In grade school, she panicked during the practice fire drills. Practice for what?, Tara asked. For the upcoming disaster that was bound to happen?

Then, at the age of 11, it happened. Tara heard the phrase that changed her Step on a crack, break your mother’s back. Before Tara knew it, she was counting every crack in the sidewalk. Over time, Tara’s “quirks” grew and arranging her meals on plates, nonstop prayer rituals, until she developed a new ritual wherin she kissed her fingers and touched doorknobs….

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Notes:

There is an ebook. There is a kindle edition.

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Archivist Comments:

I think this book is based upon the author’s own experiences. Also, Ive seen some people dropping stars in their reviews for the portrayal of certain characters i.e. a token black friend and a romance that felt forced in. But, other people have also said that they related to the portrayals of OCD and mental health in this book and could relate to the characters. I do believe their is a side character with some form of eating disorder, potentially anorexia.

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