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rebeccawesome's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Incest
riopse's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
j_1's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
clarabooksit's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Self harm
elizabethmlilly's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
When I was 25, I went to Barnes and Noble and nervously flipped through pages of this book, looking over my shoulder. I thought if someone saw me reading this book, with the naked lady on the cover, they’d think I was a lesbian. Turns out I am!
Now at age 32, I bought this book at another Barnes and Noble and happily handed it to the cashier without a second thought. How wonderful.
This book is so raw about the worst and lowest point of the author’s life. I can’t believe how blunt she is about her own past actions that range from embarrassing to troubling. It’s concise, a small book that is so loud, each panel shouts and screams at the reader. (In a good way!)
Deeply insightful about intimacy and vulnerability, and how sex is much more those things than it is the physical act of humans touching each other’s bodies. Honestly much less “lesbian” than I thought in a way. I think by the end of the book, the author can’t even admit to herself yet that she IS a lesbian. It’s not clear.
I like that it’s not tied up with a neat “Queer American YA” type ribbon—I love myself, cue the pride flags. It captures the messy, choked-up middle of that journey and leaves us on a cliffhanger, hoping the best for the author in the future. I’m still thinking of her, hoping she’s like me now, happily handing lesbian books to bookstore cashiers.
Now at age 32, I bought this book at another Barnes and Noble and happily handed it to the cashier without a second thought. How wonderful.
This book is so raw about the worst and lowest point of the author’s life. I can’t believe how blunt she is about her own past actions that range from embarrassing to troubling. It’s concise, a small book that is so loud, each panel shouts and screams at the reader. (In a good way!)
Deeply insightful about intimacy and vulnerability, and how sex is much more those things than it is the physical act of humans touching each other’s bodies. Honestly much less “lesbian” than I thought in a way. I think by the end of the book, the author can’t even admit to herself yet that she IS a lesbian. It’s not clear.
I like that it’s not tied up with a neat “Queer American YA” type ribbon—I love myself, cue the pride flags. It captures the messy, choked-up middle of that journey and leaves us on a cliffhanger, hoping the best for the author in the future. I’m still thinking of her, hoping she’s like me now, happily handing lesbian books to bookstore cashiers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
bookwormdystopian2's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
mysticwiki's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
jackiejackiejackiee's review against another edition
funny
sad
slow-paced
3.0
Even though the title of the book and the brief synopsis hint at a funny/sad story, I found this manga to be way deeper than anticipated. I cannot say if that's a good thing or not, but if you are in the mood for a new perspective on coming into lesbianhood this might be the book for you. The author's struggle with an eating disorder, mental illness, and family dynamics was eye-opening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
chantplant's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
5.0
This is a re-read! Read it all in one go. Genuinely one of my favorite manga/comics and even books in general of all time. Read this for the first time in 2017 when I was still going through a lot of the same things Kabi was in this manga. Going back to it now that i’m (mostly) recovered from these things it still hits close to home.
I still felt so seen and could remember what it was like being in the thick of it and actually using this manga to help me understand why i was doing and feeling some of things that i was.
the essays on physical vs emotional pain & explaining how investing in yourself physically can do wonders for mental health were particularly helpful and worth coming back to. this is one of those manga that I will hold forever dear and will always reference and come back to. kabi also definitely deserves credit in popularizing autobio in manga and opening up the space to explore mental health and sexuality in the manga sphere.
-
that being said - coming back to My Lesbian Experience after reading most of Kabi’s other works - it’s breaks my heart tremendously seeing her artwork decline in quality as her health worsens. as well as seeing Kabi talk herself into circles & seemingly stray away from the goals she’s made in this manga as time goes by. reading about her relapses in semi-real time is extremely saddening.
in My Lesbian Experience, Kabi fights with herself to gain control of her life and make her own wants and desires a priority. She tells herself over & over that her life > her parent’s expectations. Yet in her second latest My Pancreas Broke But My Life Got Better, she circles back to where she started: worrying about her parents feelings and making choices based on how they may react.
i know that mental heath is a continuous process of two steps forward one step back. and relapse can happen several times even in later recovery stages.
i hope Kabi retraces her steps and re-reads My Lesbian Experience and remembers where she started. her own words may help her the way it’s helped me and others in their mental health journey. i wish her all the best and will continue to support her work.
I still felt so seen and could remember what it was like being in the thick of it and actually using this manga to help me understand why i was doing and feeling some of things that i was.
the essays on physical vs emotional pain & explaining how investing in yourself physically can do wonders for mental health were particularly helpful and worth coming back to. this is one of those manga that I will hold forever dear and will always reference and come back to. kabi also definitely deserves credit in popularizing autobio in manga and opening up the space to explore mental health and sexuality in the manga sphere.
-
that being said - coming back to My Lesbian Experience after reading most of Kabi’s other works - it’s breaks my heart tremendously seeing her artwork decline in quality as her health worsens. as well as seeing Kabi talk herself into circles & seemingly stray away from the goals she’s made in this manga as time goes by. reading about her relapses in semi-real time is extremely saddening.
in My Lesbian Experience, Kabi fights with herself to gain control of her life and make her own wants and desires a priority. She tells herself over & over that her life > her parent’s expectations. Yet in her second latest My Pancreas Broke But My Life Got Better, she circles back to where she started: worrying about her parents feelings and making choices based on how they may react.
i know that mental heath is a continuous process of two steps forward one step back. and relapse can happen several times even in later recovery stages.
i hope Kabi retraces her steps and re-reads My Lesbian Experience and remembers where she started. her own words may help her the way it’s helped me and others in their mental health journey. i wish her all the best and will continue to support her work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
pandanexpress's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts