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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
A beast of a graphic memoir that I’m very glad I read on my iPad - carpal tunnel just thinking about holding a 920-page graphic novel. This is an autobiographical work, depicting Emma’s struggles to transition after being diagnosed with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). It’s intense, and often frustrating, as Emma has the misfortune of having possibly the least empathetic therapist in the world. Toby was awful and I hope he is no longer practising. Their circling and aggressive (on Toby’s part) conversations were unpleasant to read, so imagine how Emma must have felt experiencing that, if it feels exhausting as an outside reader.
I liked the way Grove depicted her alters - it was easy to see from facial expressions and posture who was fronting at the time. The art is fairly simple, black and white, and I read that Emma didn’t write in order - she just sat down to sketch what she remembered, then pieced it together. This is definitely visible in the choppy, pell-mell style, and I think works well depicting the turmoil Emma was experiencing at the time.
Beyond heartened that Emma found a therapist who took the time to understand her better and who was versed in DID. Wish her nothing but the best and all the healing for the trauma she endured as a child.
Read for TSG Genre Challenge 2023: Read a book with more pages than 2022’s longest book & Queer Your Year 2023: Over 500 pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Transphobia, Medical trauma
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
challenging
emotional
informative
Please check trigger warnings
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Transphobia
informative
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Wow. This was intense, insightful and emotional. This was an incredible account of the author's gender transition and reckoning with her D.I.D. diagnosis. I thought the sparse illustrations were fitting, but I found the facial expressions a bit lacking. It was hard for me to really understand some of the nuances during the conversations with Toby. On the topic of Toby, From the blub I thought he was going to be a supportive asset to Emma but was actually shocked with his treatment of her. I was unprepared for some of those scenes and often had to take breaks between certain chapters. I understand that there is a level of narrator unreliability here, but the disrespect and mistreatment was appalling. Overall, I enjoyed this especially since it is a topic I am very unfamiliar with, but I'd strongly recommend checking the content warnings on this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Medical trauma
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
Medical malpractice
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Spoiler
This book is so incredibly simple, but effective, and the last couple chapters really hit home for me. Just showing a new therapist isn't so bad after getting so used to Toby is fresh water too.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Transphobia