Lighter than my shadow - Softcover

THE GUARDIAN - Lighter Than My Shadow is gripping, thanks to its honesty and its disjunction between traumatic subject matter and sometimes childlike artwork.

FOREWORD (STARRED) -- Katie Green's memoir, Lighter Than My Shadow, offers a personal, finely wrought examination of life with an eating disorder, as well as of the repercussions of abuse. Warning signs appear early. Young Katie seems obsessed with perfection, particularly with regard to her body image and tracking what she eats. When the problem manifests itself outwardly and Katie is diagnosed with anorexia, her parents consult an "alternative therapist" who betrays Katie's trust and adds another layer of emotional obstacles for her to overcome. Green's account is revealing, not just in its unguarded disclosures of events in her life but also in its exploration of what takes a smart girl from a supportive family down such a difficult path. Katie is a sympathetic, almost tragic figure as she cycles from one round of "recovery" to another and is nearly undone by the process. Finally, she achieves a delicate balance that allows her to move on with her life as an artist.
Green's drawings capture feelings that her words alone cannot. There's no substitute for the visceral reaction to witnessing the shocking changes in Katie's body or seeing her doubts, fear, and obsessions manifested in the form of a black cloud, or shadow, that appears throughout the book-sometimes small, sometimes completely enveloping her. Lighter Than My Shadow features some adult content but is insightful and valuable for those of high-school age or even younger. It's a gripping memoir that survivors can relate to, and one that will produce a greater degree of empathy and understanding in those who have little experience with the subject. PETER DABBENE (September/October 2017)

JOS WHEDON - It's universal yet specific and those together make such strong medicine. Wow.

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL -- Katie Green's Lighter Than My Shadow (Lion Forge, 2017) is a powerful memoir of anorexia, disordered eating, and sexual abuse. Green's story takes herself from a child who was a picky eater through repeated bouts with anorexia and rigid eating habits, which are exacerbated by bullying at school and her own low self-esteem. Some of her therapists and doctors are clueless, while others are fooled by her calculated answers. Indeed, Green dupes many of the people around her, but not her readers-she draws her disorder as a black, scribbly cloud that sometimes hangs over her head and consumes her completely. Even when she appears to be doing well, the darkness is often hovering nearby. Finally Green goes to an "alternative therapist" who encourages her to rebel against her parents, and she begins to feel better, until she realizes that he has been sexually abusing her under the guise of therapy. Tortured by guilt, flashbacks, and feelings of worthlessness, Green attempts suicide, but when she finally pursues the art career she has always wanted and finds a therapist who understands her feelings, she begins to recover. Anna, the central character in Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield, contends with anorexia. It should be noted that Green's depictions of sexual abuse are fairly explicit; nonetheless, she wrote Lighter Than My Shadow in part for teens. "I would love 17-year-olds to read it," she said in my interview with her in May 2017. "I don't blame myself for the abuse that happened to me, but I know that if I had a better understanding of what abuse is or looks like, it might have been stopped earlier. If teenagers are reading this kind of story, then hopefully they will understand it better." Tyranny (Tundra, 2009), by Lesley Fairfield, is another look at the same topic. This fictional story of a young woman with anorexia and bulimia uses a skeletal squiggle to represent the negative thoughts-the "tyranny"-that compel her to try to be thin. Anna, the heroine, struggles with her disorder and relapses before going into a residential treatment facility and finally gets well. Along the way, Fairfield depicts Anna's distorted self-image, comparing her real body to what she sees in the mirror, and brings in other characters to show different aspects of the disorder. Although the subject is very serious-one character dies of the disease-Fairfield's light, cartoony style keeps the book from ever feeling too heavy. (Note: Some nonsexual nudity.) Both of these stories use the graphic medium to reveal the distortions in body image that come with eating disorders-in the case of Tyranny, Fairfield visualizes both the reality of Anna's body and the inaccurate view she sees in the mirror. In Lighter Than My Shadow, Green imagines her belly bulging every time she eats. Meanwhile, she also envisions herself getting lighter and disappearing into a wisp of smoke as she loses weight.

BOOKLIST -- Green's graphic memoir is a full and personal picture of anorexia and recovery from it in fits and starts. A picky eater as a kid, Green grows especially concerned about what she consumes in her early teens. As she strives for perfection in her homework and on her plate, food worries begin to overcome her. A growing blob of angry-looking black scribbles appears over her head, envelops her dysmorphic visions of herself, and follows food down her throat. After her concerned parents find a treatment program that helps her gain weight, Green decides she prefers the care of an alternative healer, a man who ends up doing much more harm than good, giving the teen another trauma to recover from. When she begins to binge-eat, her torso is shown covered by a gaping, hungry mouth. Eventually, a kind therapist helps Green better understand and forgive her compulsions. Green's precise grayscale drawings convey her illness with deep understanding, while her simplified face reflects the subtlest emotional shifts. -- Annie Bostrom. This title has been recommended for young adult readers: YA/General Interest: Green's experiences with an eating disorder and sexual abuse may resonate with teens. -Annie Bostrom

STYLIST MAGAZINE - This is a brave book from an astoundingly talented new voice.

A graphic memoir of eating disorders, abuse andrecovery.

Like most kids, Katie was a pickyeater. She'd sit at the table in silent protest, hide uneaten toast in herbedroom, listen to parental threats that she'd have to eat it for breakfast.

But in any life a set of circumstance cancollide, and normal behavior might soon shade into something sinister, somethingdeadly. One day you can find yourself being told you have two weeks tolive.

Lighter Than My Shadow is a hand-drawnstory of struggle and recovery, a trip into the black heart of a taboo illness,an exposure of those who are so weak as to prey on the weak, and an inspirationto anybody who believes in the human power to endure towardshappiness.