“Part of the job of being human is to consistently underestimate the effect we
have on other people…” Autobiography of a face is a memoir about Lucy Grealy’s
battle with cancer and the way she dealt with how she looked afterwards.
Autobiography of a face was an inspiring book about self image. She wasn't afraid to
write about the cold, hard truth and that’s one of many reasons why her writing is so
beautiful.
Lucy Grealy was born June 3, 1963 in Dublin, Ireland and she moved to Spring
Valley, New York in 1967, when Lucy was four. Lucy parents were Desmond and Trena
Grealy. She had two sisters and two brothers named Suellen, Sarah, Nicholas, and
Sean. Sarah was her twin sister.
Lucy Grealy’s cancer interrupted her childhood and filled it with hospital visits and
surgeries. She was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma around the age of nine. Ewing’s
sarcoma is a type of cancer that most often occurs in and around the bones. Ewing’s
sarcoma can be a very deadly disease, with a five percent survival rate, and has killed
many people. She quickly started chemotherapy and radiation treatment. The radiation
treatment was once every week and she always came home throwing up. She began
avoiding mirrors because chemo and radiation also dissolved most of her jaw bone and
her hair began to slowly fall out. Lucy had a bizarre viewpoint of chemotherapy she said
chemo proved she could be brave, she was taught that bravery was goodness and if
she couldn't be brave she had nothing to prove her life wasn't worthless. After chemo
she said she had an odd empty feeling and was always trying to prove herself worthy of
living.
After chemotherapy she was able to start high school with the rest of her grade.
She quickly realized her school life wouldn't be the same as it use to and she avoided
speaking to others as much as humanly possible. She sat in the counselor's office at
lunch and searched for the least crowded hallways in between her classes. No matter
what she tried she was always being made fun of and she began to believe that it was
their right to laugh at her face because she believed she was ugly.
Lucy graduated high school and she went to Sarah Lawrence College. She
discovered her love for poetry and began writing. She made many good friends and
decided to start writing an Autobiography about her experiences with Ewing’s Sarcoma