Originally written for the Graphic Librarians bookstagram.
In this vulnerable and brave autobiography, Marie de Brauer offers us a view on her life as a fat person and talks about a weight related discrimination called grossophobia.
Like all of us humans, Marie is unique, special in her own way, but at the same time similar to many of us – she is born a healthy baby, growing up she liked (and still likes) dancing, spending time having fun with friends and going to school. But since her young age, she has more kilograms that the society finds “normal”, and that fact triggers events that brought trauma after trauma and made her live life in self hatred.
It took many years, until a moment when she tried to commit suicide, for Marie to seek professional mental help, and to realize that she is experiencing a silent and ignored discrimination, that spiraled her life into unhappiness.
In a humorous way and with warm and colorful illustrations made by Lucymacaroni, Marie’s life story creates a safe educational platform for people to learn about grossophobia and how it affects fat people, but also the whole society.
I was surprised to realize how little did I know, or thought about this topic, before reading this book that made me feel like my inner child, the primary school me, got a massive hug from Marie. You see, as a kid, I was fat, and I experienced various events which clearly left a mark on my mental health, identity and behavior. Some of my close family members, friends, school colleagues, and even strangers, had comments about my body that made me hate myself and feel like there is something wrong with me. Marie’s book reminded me that there was never a problem, and gently allowed me to safely relive, and then release those memories and emotions.