A review by abbie_
The Third Person by Emma Grove

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

3.75

A beast of a graphic memoir that I’m very glad I read on my iPad - carpal tunnel just thinking about holding a 920-page graphic novel. This is an autobiographical work, depicting Emma’s struggles to transition after being diagnosed with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). It’s intense, and often frustrating, as Emma has the misfortune of having possibly the least empathetic therapist in the world. Toby was awful and I hope he is no longer practising. Their circling and aggressive (on Toby’s part) conversations were unpleasant to read, so imagine how Emma must have felt experiencing that, if it feels exhausting as an outside reader. 

I liked the way Grove depicted her alters - it was easy to see from facial expressions and posture who was fronting at the time. The art is fairly simple, black and white, and I read that Emma didn’t write in order - she just sat down to sketch what she remembered, then pieced it together. This is definitely visible in the choppy, pell-mell style, and I think works well depicting the turmoil Emma was experiencing at the time. 

Beyond heartened that Emma found a therapist who took the time to understand her better and who was versed in DID. Wish her nothing but the best and all the healing for the trauma she endured as a child. 

Read for TSG Genre Challenge 2023: Read a book with more pages than 2022’s longest book & Queer Your Year 2023: Over 500 pages. 
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