Autobiography of a Face

<p><b>A <i>New York Times</i> Notable Book</b><b><br><br>''It is impossible to read <i>Autobiography of a Face </i>without having your consciousness raised forever''<br><i>Mirabella</i><br></b><br><b>''Both book and life are unforgettable''</b><br><b><i>New York Times</i></b><br><br>At age nine, Lucy Grealy was diagnosed with a potentially terminal cancer. <br><br>When she returned to school with a third of her jaw removed, she faced the cruel taunts of classmates. It took her twenty years of living with a distorted self-image and more than thirty years of reconstructive procedures before she could come to terms with her appearance. <br><br>In this lyrical and strikingly candid memoir, Grealy tells her story of great suffering and remarkable strength without sentimentality and with considerable wit. She captures what it is like as a child and a young adult to be torn between two warring impulses: to feel that more than anything else we want to be loved for who we are, while wishing desperately and secretly to be perfect.</p>