Writing that book was part of my motivation to get better.ĭownthetubes: How long did it take to write and draw? It’s a tale on a par with Craig Thompson’s Blankets in terms of length… I decided there was a need for a book that told the unflinching truth about how hard recovery is, but showing that it is indeed possible, and worth it. The message seemed to me either that I would be struggling with this illness for the rest of my life, or that recovery was as simple as thinking positively and snapping out of it. When I was struggling with anorexia I was frustrated with the literature I found. Katie Green: That’s quite a long story, most of which is told in the book itself so I won’t spoil it too much.

I caught up with Katie to talk about her challenging new book and her creation process…ĭownthetubes: How did Lighter Than my Shadow come about? She has published a regular zine, The Green Bean, since 2010. This frankly amazing graphic novel is the work of Katie Green, an artist and illustrator living in the south west of England.

Lighter Than My Shadow, on sale now from Jonathan Cape, is a powerful, thought-provoking hand-drawn story of struggle and recovery, a trip into the black heart of a taboo illness, an exposure of those who are so weak as to prey on the vulnerable, and an inspiration to anybody who believes in the human power to endure towards happiness.

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Lighter than my shadow book