Jim Kettner

This graphic novel mainly set in Portland, OR (also takes place in the Bay area and Philly), gave me insight to eating disorders and body image. Not often a topic of conversation, I know little about what it’s like to grapple with this illness. I’m grateful Lacy Davis shared her story with the world and I hope it helps people in similar positions.

This graphic follows Lacy’s journey with anorexia and eventually bulimia. I know what they are but to be in Lacy’s thoughts while she’s out celebrating with friends staring down a big milkshake, it was so raw and eyeopening. I’m glad to have read this.

I’m also super glad Lacy met and fell in love with Jim Kettner! He is the illustrator of this GN but also a main character and Lacy’s main squeeze! It was very comforting to know Jim supported Lacy and continues to support her because like she says in this book, “I don’t think being recovered is possible. That’s why I will always call myself a person in recovery. Because it’s not over, and it never will be.”… (more)

I am reading more graphic novels because they are becoming more and more popular, especially with students. This book is a memoir detailing the author's battle with anorexia and bulima - two very serious eating disorders. She is very honest in her feelings and the causes of her disease as well as how she managed to cope with it. Along the way she was assisted by those who love her and those in a support group. The artwork is wonderful and compliments the story line. It was a wonderful look at a very serious issue and hopefully will help reach those who suffer from eating disorders.… (more)

As much as I admire Lacy Davis' bravery in surviving her ordeal and telling her story, I could not get past how much the art irritated me. Seriously, just flipping through the book as I write the review, I feel myself tensing up and becoming unhappy. It's the visual equivalent of fingers on a chalkboard for me.

The character art is just ugly, with unnecessary lines, needlessly exaggerated features, and a distracting pointiness. In a work about eating disorders, I find it annoying that the diversity in body types for side and background characters ranges mostly from thin to fit, with the only prominent obese character in the book outside of an Overeaters Anonymous meeting being the grumpy customer in a coffee shop. And the overuse of gray wash and special effects just make even the emotional high points of Davis' story look murky and depressing. With any other artist, this would probably have been a three-star book for me.… (more)

It has been a very long time since I've read a graphic novel. Honestly, I don't even remember what the last one was that I read, but I'm SO glad I came across Ink in Water on NetGalley.

Lacy is brutally honest about her battle with anorexia. She is open about the good and the bad decisions she's made throughout her life and how she is constantly recovering. Those evil thoughts about not being good enough are constantly circling through her mind, but in the end, she has learned how not to be trapped by them. It truly was a beautifully written account of a terrible obsession with food.

There were many parts that were difficult to read, but that unflinching honest story needs to be told. I've never personally had an eating disorder, but I've come close. I've obsessed about calorie counts, carbs, ingredients, and time at the gym. I've dedicated journals and notebooks to tracking my body's intake and output as if it were my job. I've taken countless diet pills and tried my fair share of fad diets, none of which worked. I've felt the emptiness in my stomach and thought that was a good sign.

I no longer do that, but my relationship with food isn't always good, because that is what it is... a relationship. I still eat emotionally and those same thoughts that Lacy describes of being too big still pop into my head. And I would have never written any of that, if it weren't for reading Lacy's novel.

I think we all at some point or another in our lives have those voices in our head. The voices that tell us that we aren't good enough. Lacy is no different from any of us in that aspect. She was just brave enough to share her story with the world.

The illustrations by Kettner are amazing, particularly those showing the chaotic jumble of negative thoughts in Lacy's head. i love that the images are all in black and white and I hope that doesn't change when the novel goes to print. I don't know about you, but my thoughts aren't very colorful when they are negatively focused on my body image. The feelings provoked by the illustrations match those of Lacy's story. And if I'm being honest (which I am), it was the cover illustration that grabbed my attention. It screamed, "Pick me!"

Lacy's story is one that need to be told and I'm glad I've had the pleasure to read it. This novel is for those struggling with an eating disorder, recovering from one, or wanting to better understand the toll an eating disorder takes on everyone involved. It is also for anyone that has ever let those thoughts take control of their lives even for the briefest of moments.

Thank you Lacy for writing your story down.… (more)