‘Lighter Than My Shadow’ is a poignant memoir of the author’s battle with an eating disorder and as a victim of sexual assault. The emotive comic book recounts her struggles with eating disorders, the anxieties and pressures of growing up — particularly body image anxieties, the burden on her family, and her striving to recover.
The pictures are drawn in sober, grey nuances and are simple but beautiful. This underlines the isolated situation of Katie, who doesn’t love how she looks or who she is, and is very uncertain about everything. The story draws you in, making you a participant in her internal turmoil using a tornado of black squiggly lines that hover over her head, sometimes small, and other times taking over the entire panel / page.
The concern and helplessness of Katie’s family and friends is also told thoughtfully, as they are unable to control the situation or do anything at all to help Katie.
In the introduction, the author says of the book:
It exists because I wanted nobody else to feel as lost, confused and alone as I felt. I wanted to be honest about how hard recovery is, and how long it takes, at the same providing that it is possible.
This is a long book, at over 500 pages, but it is a compelling and thought-provoking read. I would strongly recommend this.