MY BODY IN PIECES

In this graphic memoir, 20-year-old French Canadian Marie-Noëlle lives alone with her cat, Ganache, and a sense of self-loathing that threatens to swallow her whole.

Since her early childhood in Montréal, she has believed herself to be fat and unlovable, and she binges on junk food to replace the loneliness that consumes her. Through vivid flashbacks, Marie-Noëlle revisits memories of childhood bullies, absent family members, and an obsession with perfect princesses. Through dance, she once loved her body but over time replaced that love with harsh, negative judgment. She distances herself from everyone, but her life begins to shift when she goes to university and makes a best friend, Matilda, who makes her feel seen and accepted and suggests that Marie-Noëlle find a therapist. Through therapy, Marie-Noëlle finally realizes that it is acceptable for bodies to come in all shapes and sizes and that her weight is not connected to her worth as a person. This journey to self-acceptance allows her to reconnect with her friends and family as well as herself. The strongest element of the book is the gripping and gorgeous illustrations, which capture Marie-Noëlle’s emotions and magnify the spare dialogue and descriptions. The charcoal pencil-style art is hauntingly realistic, with soft-edged panels and hand-lettered text in black or white. Main characters appear White.

A touching story about love, forgiveness, and self-acceptance.