Autobiography of a Face

Lucy Grealy's Autobiography of a Face captured me from the first sentence until the last. Originally published in 1994, the memoir follows the life of Grealy, an amazing, talented, creative, and insightful woman who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at age nine. Grealy provides vivid details of her treatment, including countless hospital stays and reconstructive surgeries to her face. I was moved by so many elements of this story, including her strong connection and love for animals.

Sadly, Grealy died at age 39 in 2002 from a heroin overdose. This passage from the book, which appears on the back cover of my edition, demonstrates the pointed beauty of her writing and story:

"I spent five years of my life being treated for cancer, but since then I've spent fifteen years being treated for nothing other than looking different from everyone else. It was the pain from that, from feeling ugly, that I always viewed as the great tragedy of my life. The fact that I had cancer seemed minor in comparison."

This is not a book that I can adequately tell you about; this is a book to experience for yourself.