Shrink: Story of a Fat Girl

In her bold, informative graphic memoir debut, Thomas tackles fatphobia in the media, medical field, and her own mind. She’s just 16 when a doctor, in the process of treating her for strep throat, delivers a line that becomes a chorus: “You could stand to lose some weight.” While training to be a paramedic, she struggles to lift a man at the scene of an accident, decides her weight is to blame, and drops out. She joins a gym, commits to a rigorous diet and exercise program, and follows it “like gospel”—but after losing nearly 100 pounds, she still struggles with body dysmorphia and depression, and realizes she’s developed an eating disorder. When a fat activist challenges her in a social media post (“Do you even know who you are without all this weight loss crap?”), Thomas’s liberation begins. The narrative covers the historical and political roots of anti-fatness, the body mass index, and the body positivity era. She notes that even the well-intentioned “Healthy at Every Size” movement is inherently ableist, as it excludes long-term disabled or ill people (she prefers body neutrality). Stark black-and-white illustrations depict her fear as a tarlike substance that envelops her, while dysmorphia melts her into a bulging pile. Nuanced and vulnerable, this succeeds as both a body-politics primer and a personal story of the rocky path to self-acceptance. (Oct.)