Katie goes off to college with a newfound sense of confidence and independence, inspired by Jake. Jake’s answer to Katie’s issues are easy energy healing and separation from parents should help Katie cure herself.
Eventually Katie returns to school, and she says, “I’m just fatter…nothing else has changed at all.”Īs Katie’s parents continue to look for solutions to their daughter’s illness, they stumble upon a self-professed healer named Jake who has a tent in the woods. A fainting episode eventually leads Katie to a diagnosis of anorexia and an at-home, outpatient treatment with a therapist and nutritionist. Controlling her food becomes another way of controlling her feelings, and she continues to restrict her diet, A medical professional tells her she’ll get better if she just eats more.
Meanwhile, Katie receives encouraging messages from friends about being thin and healthy, especially when she swears off all junk food for Lent. She’s receiving another education at school, both in the hallways and in sex ed (“I’d learned that sex made you pregnant… and later that it made you a slut.”). Her mom shut down her curiosity about sex and interrupted her one night as she was masturbating by knocking on the door and asking why she was being so quiet. When she tells them about bullying at school, her dad tells her to laugh it off.Īt school and at home, Katie received conflicting messages about her body. For example, when Katie runs to them concerned about monsters getting her in the dark, her parents tell her nothing is there. Her parents appear loving, but they have their missteps, which invalidate and distance Katie. Katie was an emotionally sensitive child, diligent worker, and a reluctant eater who developed rituals to help her feel in control of her fears. Katie begins her story in her childhood, as the older sister in a two-parent middle class household in England. Not only is the story relevant and important for teen readers, but it also shows artistic distinction as a graphic novel.
Lighter Than My Shadow is a memoir of the author’s struggles and healing process with perfectionism, eating disorders, and sexual abuse.
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