The Way She Feels

This book was fairly heavy, but it deftly matched the heavy content about self-harm, suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, and BPD/depression/anxiety with much light[er] fare. Cook's art style is whimsical and fun, and it by turns punctuates and emphasizes the written content. It's by turns informative for readers who might not know much about BPD (or might only know incorrect/stereotypical/ableist 'information') while also being (presumably) a useful set of stories for people who DO understand and might experience some of Cook's mental illnesses. It also seems like a great sign that more nuanced and ownvoices accounts of BPD are coming out.

A moving and creative graphic and prose memoir from a young artist who struggles with depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder. This book does a great job humanizing the diagnosis and heling people understand what borderline feels from the inside. The mix op of art, comics, lists, and short prose pieces keeps the topic from being too oppressive. I really learned a lot from this book.

The Way She Feels: My Life on the Borderline in PIctures & Pieces is a graphic memoir of the author's life with borderline personality disorder. A combination of an overview of the disorder, details of the author's memories and experiences, and lighthearted moments in between, this book uses illustrations throughout each chapter to provide the reader with a unique look into the numerous aspects of the disorder.

I was drawn to this book based on the topic of borderline personality disorder alone and was surprised and impressed at this specific take on a memoir, especially one based on a mental illness. The author did a fantastic job detailing an often misunderstood disorder and is very brave in the amount of information that she shared; this is so important in increasing understanding and eliminating stigma surrounding mental illness. Thoughtfully illustrated throughout the book, the art added an extra element to the story, especially when the subject matter became heavy. And in my opinion, the highlight of this book is the chapter on the author's google search of the disorder and how it led to her writing this book. This book is great approach to a difficult topic and is a book that I would recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tin House for this ARC; this is my honest and voluntary review.