The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel*****

Reading dates: Sometime in September, October – 31 December 2023

The Secret to Superhuman Strength is, I think, a memoir masterpiece. Not only is it beautiful and insightful, it is very moving and relatable. I read it as part of my resolution to taking special care of myself on Sundays. I would make a second cup of coffee and, instead of faffing on social media – the default – I would really enjoy engaging with this story, quietly and in awe. It gave me very high levels of reading pleasure for its narrative, its weaving of stories, its reach and its quest for strength and transcendence, which I feel drawn to as well. I have enjoyed Bechdel’s Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic and Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama (both 5 stars!) but this one is closer to me, I understand it better. Maybe it is even my book of 2023.