Memoirs of a Rainy Day is a short story by Mary Anne Zammit on the theme of self harm and  has been published in the latest edition of Literature Today Volume 5  which is an international journal of contemporary writers.

The selected thene was Memories where 71 contemporary writers from around the world have written poems and short stories.

Self harm is often the result of post traumatic stress disorder PSTD and other mental health problems. In  most of the cases, it is related to trauma in childhood such as sexual, physical, emotional and neglect. Research in this area shows that resorting to self harm is a way of showing the need for help, reduce anger and sufferers tend to hurt themselves instead of others.

This was the case with Anna, the protoganist in the story. Anna recounts her memories  of  sexual abuse in her childhood and her journey through  substance abuse, crime and self harm in order to escape the past. Unfortunately, this is a common reality for most women.

Mary Anne Zammit is author of four books and her  poem Love Beats has also been featured in the previous edition of Literature Today Volume 4.