This was a kick in the (figurative) nuts!!!

It's like reading a diary of every young child who doesn't get the love, selflove, support or encouragement they need.

I know about eating disorders and self harm.
I have seen it, felt it, been around it, lived with it...
Not just myself but people around me as well.

So this was a very confronting and comforting comic to read.
Because if our older selves could tell our younger selves about all the things we know now and all the (unnecessary) hardships we've gone through, our lives could have been lived so differently.

But it is what it is and you'll learn to live with the hand that was dealt to you and you'll make the best of it either way.

The author did a beautiful job addressing so many different topics about body image and the way we think of our bodies. I enjoyed the illustrations and the dialogue. Reading this book hit a little spot in my heart. We look at our bodies and judge every part of ourselves. I loved this story.

At it's core, it's a fine book. It just wasn't for me.
At this stage, I've already read numerous books - including graphic novels - that discuss the enormous pressure young women, who gre up in the 90's/00's, felt about their body. For that reason, I found the book boring and it didn't offer me anything that I haven't already seen/read/heard about a million times over.

The illustrations were lovely. I enjoyed the layout of the pages and how different they were from one another. There was, however, often a LOT of info packed into every page, which meant a slow reading pace. Again, not my style when reading graphic novels. I simply was the wrong audience for this book.

what an interesting memoir!
the drawings are nice and her life is, sadly, familiar to mine and I can relate personally.
it's a very raw, honest, graphic novel and I loved all the details, going through the eras with her, the chapters and just feeling like I know her in depth.
a great memoir for everyone that doesn't fit the beauty standards.

The visuals and illustrations were incredibly smart, colorful, and absolutely hilarious! It hit home a little more closely than I expected, but for that I'm grateful.

Reading this graphic novel memoir was so cathartic! The author Siobhan and I must be the same age since it seems like we both finished high school in 2007, so seeing her draw the fashions, have the same insecure thoughts, and go through similar instances of body image insecurity just shows that we might think we’re the only ones but we’re not. Still to this day we all have our insecurities and body image issues but it’s so hard when you’re a teenager especially and you think you’re the only one. I really love the art and colors and how the book digs deep. It really made me think about how focused we all are as a society about thinness and how we’ll be perfect one day once we’re thin and it’s not true. We’re all already perfect! Loved this book!

I received an ARC for "Full of Myself: A Graphic Memoir About Body Image." I found this graphic novel thoroughly enjoyable as it chronicles a woman's journey through the years, highlighting her struggles and triumphs. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a relatable narrative for the "average" female experience.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing in exchange for a free and honest review.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel, it follows Siobhan as she grows up from a child to an adult. You see how she developed body dysmorphia due to the content she was consuming and the culture around her. To finally realising that she is fine just the way she is. I found this book very relatable as at one time or another you may feel like people are living fabulous lives compared to yours (especially on social media) or that they don't have an insecurities. But this comic shows that we share similar experiences after all.

I would recommend this graphic novel to everyone as I feel the topics covered are pertinent and it may help someone struggling with body dysmorphia and feelings of isolation or being different. I also liked the drawings, which were quite nice.

very good. enjoyed the character’s love for herself and learning to appreciate herself and her body. showcased how women are always judged about their bodies

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions.

I can relate to Full of Myself to the point I swear Siobhán stole my diaries. The fact that she didn't make me feel like I wasn't alone in my body acceptance issues.

Like the warning says there are some triggering moments, but for me at least, it's because her story is so relatable

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!!
The author illustrates her struggles with body image and diet culture throughout her life in this beautiful graphic novel, and I was absolutely obsessed, it felt like I was reading my own diary at times! I don’t think I’ve ever felt this seen in a graphic novel. It had so much humor and made me laugh a lot at times, but at other times it also had me feeling very sorry for the protagonist, myself, and every other person struggling with diet culture in our society. I think it’s a great read for anyone who wants to feel seen, or for anyone who wants to better understand some people’s struggles with these issues.

In this graphic memoir, Siobhán Gallagher takes on body image. We learn about her family, friendships and relationships, and tag along as she navigates her relationship with her body.

“It was clear to me as a kid that to be a woman was to be wrong no matter what, and there were so many ways to be wrong!”

Siobhán talks about pop culture and the messages she’s received about her body throughout her life.

“When you hear something enough, you internalise it. And I internalised the message, “I am not enough.””

As someone who has read fairly widely about disordered eating and body image, I didn’t come away with any new revelations. However, Siobhán’s story is relatable and definitely something younger me needed to hear.

Disordered eating is a serious topic but there were definitely some smiles along the way. And times where I felt called out.

Something I’m starting to notice more in memoirs is a focus on how difficult things were in the past, then a shift to how much things have improved. While I can empathise with the pain of the past and embrace cheerleader mode when I read about someone being healed/better/more fulfilled than they were, what I really want to know is how they got from A to B.

Most of us are living in the messy in between. We’re looking for signposts to follow or toolbox contents we can test out and adapt for ourselves. I would have loved to have spent more time learning how Siobhán went from disordered eating to acceptance.

I loved the Years in Fashion pages at the beginning of each section. A lot of these brought back fond memories and fashion crimes. I appreciated Schrödinger’s outfit and I’m considering adopting Purple Day Fridays.

Content warnings include body dysmorphia, disordered eating, fatphobic language, mental health, self harm and sexual harassment.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this graphic memoir.

I had the privilege of reading an e-ARC copy of “Full of Myself” and I am floored by the way it spoke to parts of me I didn’t think anyone else could see or understand. It was emotional to read but also really healing ❤️ Siobhán Gallagher writes and illustrates her story from childhood to adulthood in such a moving, relatable way. Her insights into her past experiences and how they molded and shaped her into the person she is today leaves a very lasting impression. Its focus as a graphic novel is primarily on body image and Siobhán threads her story into the overall theme so well. I could tell, as a reader, that the author had to do a great deal of thoughtful reflection in order to write something so well-thought out as this book and I'm personally very grateful for vulnerability sharing her experience.

Thank you to Siobhán for writing and illustrating such a beautiful book. Literally never finished a graphic novel e=ARC and then went to preorder my copy so fast. Thank you thank you for sharing your story! It was so relatable and funny and emotional.

And thank you to NetGalley & Andrew McMeel Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this graphic novel in exchange for my honest thoughts!

This graphic novel truly is a love song to any millennial women who grew up thinking they weren't good enough and worthy of love as themselves. I related so much to each chapter of this book that I couldn't believe I had so many parallel experiences while reading this. The last chapter of this book truly just filled my heart with so much love. I felt such joy and elation for her to finally realize the amazing things about herself and also nurture her younger self through this book. This was a delight to read and something I truly needed in my life right now as I'm continuing to pour love into myself. Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for allowing me to read this, it truly was a pleasurable and memorable read.

Siobhan's graphic memoir was a great insight on how pop culture affects women, starting as young as 8.
Siobhan, through her novel, goes into great detail her trails and tribulations on how to become her best self while consuming pop culture that was shoving being thin down every one's throats. She also stressed how her parents viewed nudity and sexuality through TV shows and how bad they are, sending Siobhan mixed signals on how her body should look.


TW: fatphobia (through peers and herself), depression, self harm, bulimia, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, anxiety, toxic relationships

TW: fatphobia, self-harm, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and body dysmorphia.

This is a memoir of the artist Siobhan Gallagher's life; from childhood to adulthood. She uncovers some of her darkest secrets and insecurities. She explores important topics such as body image and the overall difficulties of growing up, moving to a new city, starting jobs and getting in and out of relationships.

I think this is a very relatable story for a lot of people, and it is fun and heartwrenching in equal parts.

As for the artwork, I think the illustrations were beautiful.

This book was extremely relatable, I found a lot of myself in the main character, it's not often that a book make me feel so seen. I appreciated it.

I loved everything about this book. I could see myself in every panel. In all of the text. It made me happy to see my own feelings mirrored while also sad so many of us had this same lived experience. I immediately went to preorder this book because it spoke to me. My only critic or mention is that some panels are really text heavy. In my experience graphic novels rely more on the graphics.

**Review will be posted on my blog on May 30th.

Full of Myself: A Graphic Memoir About Body Image was a graphic novel I requested from Netgalley earlier this year. What initially grabbed my attention was the subtitle: "A Graphic Memoir About Body Image." As someone who has struggled with body image issues all my life and as someone who teaches teenagers, I always am on the lookout for positive media regarding body image. While I have struggled with body image issues most of my life, I hate talking about it. I am still considered "fat" today, and while most of the time I am okay with that, I still have a lot of bad days.

It is easy to feel alone in these scenarios, but books and stories like Full of Myself serve a great reminder that we are not alone in these feelings.

As a young teenager, Siobhán grapples with the question: "What does it mean to be a woman?" I think this is a question that most, if not all, woman deal with at some point in their life. From a young age, we are constantly being told our expectations or given labels, and the worst part is that most of it comes from adults.

The journey Siobhán Gallagher took us on was an extremely relatable one. While my experiences at home were not exactly the same, I still felt connected to Gallagher the entire time. I think this is a great narrative for anyone, but young women especially. It does a great job of making the reader feel validated in their feelings without flat-out telling them, "You're wrong for thinking these things." It really shows how the world tries to set us up for the worst.

It also tackles binge eating and bulimia, which is something that is hard to explain to people who have never experienced it before. I think Gallagher paints the struggles perfectly, and I honestly wish I could give this book to anyone who tells others to "just not eat junk."

The art style throughout the book is simple at times, but even so, the strategies used add to the memoir. Gallagher does a wonderful job at adding depth to panels when needed and keeping a page simple for added effect. Her attention to color (especially when she uses color in the entire panel) is powerful.

Overall, I am glad I decided to read this one. It was one that will stay with me for a long time. I am glad that Gallagher decided to share her story in a medium that could draw the attention of different readers.

4.5/5 stars

Full of Myself: A Graphic Memoir About Body Image (Pub. Date April 2, 2024) by Siobhán Gallagher is a nicely-done, visually-appealing memoir in graphic form, dealing with difficult topics, such as body image, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.

Siobhán starts off with her childhood in the Canadian Maritimes, as she began keeping a diary as a kid, and what strikes her now, as an adult was "how pervasive my body shame was." She goes through some of what she wrote at the time she was as young as 10 years old, and then goes into what messages she received through the culture when she was growing up. It's all spot-on, and she uses the word "fat" in the same neutral way as fat liberationists do, explaining it in a footnote!

On one page, she explains the difference between straight size, midsize, and plus-size, with accompanying body-diverse drawings. She also goes into the misogyny she experienced just becoming a woman in the world, her choice to go away to college, and to transfer, and finally getting to live in New York.

She often felt isolated and awkward, and she illustrates these things effectively, including the depression she fell into, and later, how that morphs into an eating disorder where she binges and purges.

Eventually she works her way back to healthy behaviors and meets someone. I thought it was well-done, and would call it fat-positive, as any anti-fat bias described is done critically. Gallagher has done the work, knows what it means to be fat-positive, and has recognized the anti-fat bias that we are all exposed to. Thanks to NetGalley for an electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.