Autobiography of a Face

After reading Autobiography of a Face, I have a new perspective on what it would be like to have a life-threatening and life-altering illness.

Basically, the book is a detailed description of Lucy Grealy's life as she was growing up. When she was a preteen she was diagnosed with cancer. The cancer was in her jaw, and she had to have part of her jaw removed in an attempt to get rid of the cancer. Obviously the jaw is a pretty distinctive part of the face, and from then on she never looked normal.

I found it very sad that Grealy had to go through middle school and high school always feeling like an outsider. I remember one time in particular when I felt like an outsider, and that was my first day of middle school. We were sitting in the lunchroom before school started, and I thought it was weird that everyone was sitting in the lunchroom instead of outside on the playground like we had done in elementary school. I felt like I didn't belong in the middle school with these older, seemingly cooler people. However, I soon learned that while these people may have been older, they were nothing too exciting. When I think about it I feel stupid because compared to Lucy Grealy's situation, mine was a piece of cake.

I can't imagine feeling uncomfortable and insecure every minute of every day. Grealy described how sometimes she didn't even feel like she belonged in her own home. The only time she felt like she did belong was when she was at the hospital. I think this proves how judgemental people are. Most of the people who judged Grealy and made her feel minuscule were mere strangers who gave her an awkward glance, or stared at her from afar. It isn't fair that someone who has gone through something so difficult such as cancer should be so openly judged by persons who were so unknowing.

As far as the actual writing went in the book, I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly and painlessly I was able to finish Autobiography of a Face. I have always been a fiction reader, and wasn't exactly looking forward to reading a non-fiction book. Nonetheless, Grealy did a fantastic job (in my opinion) at making her life story interesting.