Lighter Than My Shadow is a graphic memoir by Katie Green. It details Green’s experience with and recovery from anorexia. It was originally published in the United Kingdom in 2013, later being released in the United States in 2017.
Summary The book covers Green's history with her eating disorder, which started as issues with picky eating and rituals around food before evolving into anorexia when she was a teenager and continuing into her college years. It also deals with her abusive relationship with her therapist Jake, who initially seems to help her but is later revealed to have been molesting her.
Reception Both School Library Journal and Foreword Reviews gave Lighter Than My Shadow a starred review.
Publishers Weekly stated that the book "never sugarcoats the difficult and ongoing nature of recovery," and noted the art's use of symbolic imagery such as black clouds representing Green's illness.
James Smart of The Guardian positively commented how the serious subject matter of Lighter Than My Shadow contrasted with the artstyle, and said that the book was at times "grimly repetitive" but overall "gripping."
Andy Oliver of Broken Frontier described the book as a "tour-de-force of graphic storytelling."
Accolades +Awards and honorsYearAwardResult2018Harvey Award for Book of the YearNominatedYALSA Award for Excellence in NonfictionLonglistedGreat Graphic Novels for TeensTop Ten
References
External links
Official website Interview with Katie Green on the book with Publishers Weekly Interview with Katie Green on the book with the National Eating Disorder Association