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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
This was a fascinating memoir of a woman transitioning while also dealing with childhood trauma and her resulting Disassociative Identity Disorder. While excruciating to get through at times (I hated Toby, the therapist with a burning intensity), I am so glad I read this one.
I absolutely loved this! Heartbreaking, raw, open, and just informative! The way it was structured just explained so much about the experience of living with DID. I feel so much warmth for Emma, Katina and Ed. Their story broke my heart, but taught me so much! Wow! I am just blown away by how honest this is, I feel privileged to have been able to read it!
Emma Grove is a master of the graphic memoir, and for me this book is right up there with the greats like Alison Bechdel's Fun Home. I cannot imagine how difficult this book must have been for Grove to create, having to emotionally revisit this difficult time in her life, having to piece together the timeline of events during a period where she was experiencing significant memory loss, and having to physically draw the over 900 pages of this book. (By the way, don't let the page count intimidate you. I read this in two days, and could have read it in one if I hadn't initially started reading late in the evening.)
Grove discusses her process a bit in her author's notes both at the beginning and end of the book, and it's fascinating. For instance, Grove made the choice to not allow herself any creative license with any of the dialogue in the book, instead writing it exactly as she remembers. The reasons for this choice seem to be twofold. First, she mentions that this book is a way of her allowing herself to finally make sense of the memory loss experienced during this time, so I assume this level of accuracy was important to Grove for her own sake. Secondly, throughout the book she deals with the worst fucking therapist ever (my words, not her) who constantly accuses her of lying. After that experience, it makes sense that Grove would want to sacrifice creative license for the sake of truth in her recounting of events.
Despite having placed these limitations on herself, Grove has still created a book that I couldn't put down. It's fast paced, and her art style matches the story perfectly. She draws exaggerated, sometimes even cartoonish expressions to show heightened emotions. Her art is able to show psychological events in ways that are both easily understandable and evocative.
Grove does what all great memoirists strive to do: Through telling a hyper-specific story from her own life, she hits on core elements of the human experience that many people will be able to relate to. Having to prove yourself to gatekeepers of medical care, feelings of isolation, an inability to be understood by those around you (or sometimes having the people around you willfully misunderstand), the list goes on. The discussion of how lots of trans folks need to disconnect from their physical bodies in some way or other, at some point in their lives, in order to protect themselves in a transphobic world, was especially poignant to me.
All in all, I cannot recommend this book enough.
Grove discusses her process a bit in her author's notes both at the beginning and end of the book, and it's fascinating. For instance, Grove made the choice to not allow herself any creative license with any of the dialogue in the book, instead writing it exactly as she remembers. The reasons for this choice seem to be twofold. First, she mentions that this book is a way of her allowing herself to finally make sense of the memory loss experienced during this time, so I assume this level of accuracy was important to Grove for her own sake. Secondly, throughout the book she deals with the worst fucking therapist ever (my words, not her) who constantly accuses her of lying. After that experience, it makes sense that Grove would want to sacrifice creative license for the sake of truth in her recounting of events.
Despite having placed these limitations on herself, Grove has still created a book that I couldn't put down. It's fast paced, and her art style matches the story perfectly. She draws exaggerated, sometimes even cartoonish expressions to show heightened emotions. Her art is able to show psychological events in ways that are both easily understandable and evocative.
Grove does what all great memoirists strive to do: Through telling a hyper-specific story from her own life, she hits on core elements of the human experience that many people will be able to relate to. Having to prove yourself to gatekeepers of medical care, feelings of isolation, an inability to be understood by those around you (or sometimes having the people around you willfully misunderstand), the list goes on. The discussion of how lots of trans folks need to disconnect from their physical bodies in some way or other, at some point in their lives, in order to protect themselves in a transphobic world, was especially poignant to me.
All in all, I cannot recommend this book enough.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
well at 920 pages this is the longest graphic novel I've ever read for sure!
basically: Emma goes into therapy to get approval for gender reassignment hormones and discovers she has dissociative identity disorder.
this is amazing. drawn like storyboards of an animated film, this book will leave you frustrated at some points and raw and tender at others. Toby the therapist is just the worst, smh.
basically: Emma goes into therapy to get approval for gender reassignment hormones and discovers she has dissociative identity disorder.
this is amazing. drawn like storyboards of an animated film, this book will leave you frustrated at some points and raw and tender at others. Toby the therapist is just the worst, smh.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Grief, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
The first 700 or so pages were stressful (and sometimes infuriating even), but both the last 200+ pages and knowing that the author was using their art to work through a very real and harmful therapeutic relationship made the whole read worth it.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
World’s worst therapist?
Plus much more
Plus much more
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Gaslighting
emotional
reflective
fast-paced