![]() Lighter Than My Shadow is not an easy book to read. The most harrowing illustrations are those of a close-up of Katie in the throes of a difficult moment, the black scribbles closing in on her. It makes her mental illness a real, physical character in the story as much as Katie and her family are. ![]() If you look close enough, you can pick out words: mean names and feelings that her illness would call her. Katie’s negative thoughts are portrayed by dark, dense clouds of scribbles. Each and every illustration was drawn by hand, in what looks to be ink. Though she’s admitted to therapy multiple times from high school throughout college by her family and friends, Katie ultimately has to choose recovery for herself. Her feelings of inadequacy are squashed by self-control and dedication – to her schoolwork, her appearance, and starving her body to the right shape. ![]() Everything around her is changing so rapidly, and Katie feels she has to be perfect in everything. She is bullied, and she binges when she comes home upset. Her relationship with food grows worse as she enters high school. ![]() Soon she developed a ritual for herself, where everything had to be cut the same size, chewed a certain number of times… her parents showed no concern, as lots of children develop their own way of doing things. Katie always had a difficult relationship with food, even when she was a little girl. ![]()
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