Review: Autobiography of a Face

Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm glad that I discovered this memoir (thank you, Rory Gilmore!). Grealy's story is both heartbreaking and inspirational. Grealy is a survivor of cancer and yet all anyone can see is her deformity. Instead of celebrating her survival, she is stared at and forced to deal with the shallowness of others. I'm guilty of it, too. We all judge people by their outward appearances, never stopping to think of their journey. I admire her courage for battling through several reconstructive surgeries, her tenacity in the face of obstacles, and her vulnerability in sharing her story.

Grealy is a poet and it comes across in her prose style. It is clear that each word was chosen carefully and each sentence was crafted with care. For the most part, I liked Grealy's style, but there were times that it became distracting. Nevertheless, her honesty in telling her story forged a real connection to me as a reader. It was a good reminder about the importance of looking beyond the surface to the heart of a person. Autobiography of a Face is certainly worth your time.

2015 Reading Challenge: A memoir

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