Even after such a long time after I've finished this graphic novel/memoir, I still find myself thinking about some of the things said in it. I related to some of the things Lacy struggled with, and some of her thoughts I've heard in my own head as well. No matter how badly you struggle with your body image, I really believe there's something in here for everyone. This doesn't have some sugar coated magical ending where she lives happily ever after with all of her difficulties fixed. It's realistic. It really reminded me we're not as alone as we think we are. Highly recommend.

Subtitled: Or, How I Kicked Anorexia’s Ass and Embraced Body Positivity, which works a lot better as a title.
A woman’s battle with anorexia and associated self-doubt is told through her own thoughts and encounters with friends, boyfriends, and a few others. It’s not an easy read, so if you do pick it up you’ll need to hang on to your emotional hats.
I didn’t think I would have anything in common with this character, but right away with the atheist thing. . . yeah, that’s me there. But the crippling insecurity, where she can’t get out of her own head. . . early on I’m wondering if that’s a big cause of her anorexia. I also wonder if her ex had told her why he was breaking up with her. . . maybe none of this would have happened.
I would have thought such a slow plodding bio would be boring, but it actually isn’t. After that first bit about the atheism I couldn’t commiserate with her at all, but I guess that made it better for me, as I like learning about things outside my experience.
On the other hand, I’ve never been great at reading or watching about people in pain, and this isn’t easy to get through. There’s one thing that happens about two-thirds through that’s particularly gut-wrenching. This is obviously geared toward those who can benefit from it, as a kind of self-help book, but as a memoir it’s pretty tough to handle.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5

I loved it! I'm not sure how it slipped past me not leaving feedback. This is a must read for anyone who has struggled to love their body for what it is. Which lets face it, is all of us at some point. This should be required reading for all children.

Book 54 of my 2017 Reading Challenge
read from August 17 - August 27

**I received an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley and would like to thank the author and/or publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review it**

Ink in Water: An Illustrated Memoir by Lacy J. Davis

Summary (via Goodreads)
As a young artist living in Portland, Lacy Davis’ eating disorder began with the germ of an idea: a seed of a thought that told her she just wasn’t good enough. And like ink in water, that idea spread until it reached every corner of her being. This is the true story of Lacy’s journey into the self-destructive world of multiple eating disorders. It starts with a young and positive Lacy, trying to grapple with our culture’s body-image obsession and stay true to her riot grrrl roots. And while she initially succeeds in overcoming a nagging rumination about her body, a break up with a recovering addict starts her on a collision course with anorexia, health food obsession, and compulsive exercise addiction. At the request of her last real friend, she starts going to a twelve-step Overeaters Anonymous course, only to find that it conflicts with her punk feminist ideology.

My Opinion
The graphic novel format was perfect for her memoir. She was really raw about the ups and downs of her recovery.

I found it especially interesting when she was talking about the struggles of recovery and finding a program that worked for her when she was unsure about God so she used her grandmother as a source of power.

A memoir about a woman's eating disorder, how it affected her life and how she learns to overcome it. I had a few problems with the book but otherwise I think adults 20 and up would like this book. 2.5 Stars

As an educator, I found this book an engaging way to broach a difficult subject with my students as it provided a great jumping off point for discussion.

This is a harrowing account of one woman's struggle with an eating disorder and the illustrations and story worked together well to create images that will stay with you long after reading. I have recently discovered graphic novels and memoirs and am finding the graphic style much more accessible for me as I struggle to maintain focus with regular literary memoirs.

I would recommend this for parents, librarians and anyone else who is struggling with the isolation this illness can cause.

A personal experience of a dark problem in our society told in a very honest though really hopeful way. The author which is also the protagonist takes us in her journey through accepting not only her body but her whole self.

This is a really memorable one- it's visceral and really honest. There's a lot of hardcore truths here, relatable possibly to anyone who has really struggled with mental health more generally as well as specific eating disorders.

The artwork here is really beautiful, with a touch of punk rock. It somehow communicates a lot emotionally, but don't be deceived- there's a lot of strength and positivity included in this one. This isn't glamorising the problems with eating disorders, and nor is it reducing the experience to something less worthwhile. It's super candid, and well worth a read for anyone who wants to know more about struggling with this is really like.

Harrowing memoir about a woman's struggle with the eating disorder that took over her life affecting her work, friendships, and love life.

The illustrations are amazing and compelling, they're very dark to fit in with the story. They really help you to see and understand Lacy as a human being, she's a well rounded and likable character and seeing her brutal honesty about her anorexia and her relationship with food is really moving.

She shows how it crept up on her and how it took outside help and support to realise she had a problem, it takes out some of the mystery and stigma from a particularly dangerous mental illness and may even hold up a mirror to some readers when they most need it. This is such a human story that it's impossible not to be affected by it.

How she manages to make something so emotional so funny, I don't know - it was really enjoyable to read as well as sharing an important message. I will definitely be getting a print copy of this book to keep forever.

An extremely powerful account of the start of an eating disorder and the continuous struggle of living a life during recovery from said ED. Although I have never officially had an ED, I do know the struggle of living with and despite your demons (for me, my demons are more perfectionism/anxiety based). This story gripped me and I felt like I was right there with Lacy. I definitely recommend this to anyone, whether you are recovering or just curious to know more.

This series is the perfect argument against early chapter books needing gentle, sweet characters. The Infamous Ratsos are sometime bullies, mild blowhards. They're stubbornly "tough". They're still learning how to be friends, how to be considerate. The writing is fairly simple but not without charm.

I really loved this book. I couldn't put it down! I loved following Lacy's journey and the illustrations were poignant and beautiful. I feel like this was an inspiring and also informative read.

'Ink in Water: An Illustrated Memoir (Or, How I Kicked Anorexia's Ass and Embraced Body Positivity' by Lacy J. Davis with art by Jim Kettner is the true story of Lacy's eating disorder.
At the beginning of the story, Lacy lives in Portland. She has a relationship with a guy there. When it goes away, Lacy is left feeling like she was inadequate. This leads her to question her body size. She begins questioning all her food and exercising maniacally. Through the help of a friend, she ends up going to an Overeater's Anonymous group. What follows is her journey through the 12 steps and beyond.

It's funny and sad and told in the exact kind of honest way that could be really helpful to other people. Lacy doesn't brag about overcoming. She doesn't hide the shame and guilt. There is real tragedy in the story and real hope. Jim (Kett-Nerd) Kettner's art is a good mix for the story. I really, really liked this one.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from New Harbinger Publications, Inc. and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this wonderful graphic novel.

Loved the artwork in this book! The story was very inspiring, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel format, a first for me of an illustrated memoir by Lacy Davis about her battle with an eating disorder that really began to mess up her life while she was in college. It seemed to begin after a really painful breakup of a relationship and only got worse until finally a friend talked her into trying a 12 step program. That helped some but she still had to find her own way in the end. A well-told story in a relatable format. I was given an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.

The title of this book gives you an accurate idea of exactly what you're in for when you pick it up. INK IN WATER is Lacy J. Davis's story of how her life path took a turn and she found herself first struggling with an eating disorder, and then learning how to instead embrace body positivity instead.

Davis points out several things that it is important for those who do not deal with any kind of addiction don't always seem to understand...that there is no cure...each day is still a day at a time, even when you are better...that having the most supportive people in the world around you doesn't make a difference if you're not making the choice yourself to get help. She also tackles the issue some have with the 12-step program over surrendering to a higher power.

The illustrations are awesome. Clearly Davis is a great artist and now I know to go looking for more of her stuff.

Ink in Water is a thought-provoking account of the author's experience of and recovery from an eating disorder. The illustrations by Jim Kettner are beautiful and really capture the fragility and tension experienced by the narrator as she tells her story. It is honest and brave, and ultimately empowering. I loved it.

As much as I wanted to enjoy this book and get carried a way with it, it took me a very long time to get into the story. The narrative is very straight forward with little distracting decor and it was supposed to be a touching story. Or, I thought it would be a touching story, instead it was a hard and gritty narrative of a very real battle with mental illness.

The rawness of the narrative and the very relateable additional issues that often tag along with with mental illness made this book very hard for me to read. The story convey in a very real and hard way how mental illness can be there even if you are obliviously unaware of it for a while.

IT shows how, even when you know you are sick, the biggest challenge of the battle is not the disease it self but recovery part. Mental helth issues, like eating disorders, depression, OCD, they become a part of you and who you are. The disease become part of how you see yourself and you identity, and how are you supposed to recover from your identity?

Davis goes all the way out to show how real her struggle was and she is in not painting any rainbows or making any face-saving promises or painting rainbows. Yet her strong narrative still warrants hope and I would recommend the book for anyone who knows someone or themselves struggle with a eating disorder.

Kettner's gritty artwork through out the novel aids to the harsh narrative without sugarcoating anything. Nothing in a story like this needs sugarcoating, even if it makes the story harder to read, and both the author and the illustrator knows this.

I was particularly interested in this as graphic memoir is a growing medium with a lot of potential. Connecting with the beginning was a bit hard for me, the whole tone tried too much to be upbeat and a bit jokey, which I thought fell flat both in the art and writing. However, as things spiral downward for Lacy we get a split in the style used, where the writing starts to really ring true and the art changes to become much more stylized - interspersed with smudged, splashy sequences and beautiful full panels. Near the end of chapter three they began to hit on something really compelling in a few panes, finally by the 2nd half they're cohesive in depicting something very raw, I wish it had been more laid out that way straight from the beginning.

Davis did an amazing job with the main plot arc, genuinely conveying the downward slide of disordered eating, particularly the desperate misplaced need for control. Through everything she's clawing to re-gain control in her life after a failed relationship, she focuses that toward other aspects of her life over & over again in obsessive and damaging ways. It takes a difficult wake up call and a lot of loving support to drive her to turn that intensity toward goals that make life better and stronger.