Until I Love Myself, Volume 1: The Journey of a Nonbinary Manga Artist

Book Cover
Average Rating
Series
Publisher
VIZ Media
Publication Date
2023
Language
English

Description

A bravely blunt autobiography about confronting the tangled traumas of gender dysphoria and workplace sexual harassment.Nonbinary artist Poppy Pesuyama is as excited about having the option to choose “neither” on forms that ask for their sex as they are about their new job working as an assistant for mangaka X!But then he sexually harasses them.Still reeling from being born into a body they hate, Pesuyama confronts their past, their friends, and even their mother as they try to come to terms with who they are and what they experienced.

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Contributors
ISBN
9781974739615

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Also in this Series

  • Until I Love Myself, Volume 1: The Journey of a Nonbinary Manga Artist (Until I love myself Volume 1) Cover
  • Until I Love Myself, Volume 2: The Journey of a Nonbinary Manga Artist (Until I love myself Volume 2) Cover

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Similar Series From Novelist

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for series you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These series have the appeal factors candid, and they have the genres "manga" and "autobiographical comics"; and the subject "self-discovery."
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These series have the genre "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subject "lesbian culture."
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These series have the appeal factors reflective and candid, and they have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "life stories"; and illustrations that are "cartoony illustrations," "colorful illustrations," and "raw illustrations."
These series have the genres "lgbtqia+ comics" and "webcomics"; and illustrations that are "cartoony illustrations."
These series have the genre "autobiographical comics"; and the subjects "comic artists," "comics and graphic novel writers," and "cartoonists."
These series have the genres "manga" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subjects "gender identity" and "identity."
These series have the appeal factors candid, and they have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "life stories."
These series have the appeal factors thought-provoking, and they have the subjects "comic artists," "cartoonists," and "comics and graphic novel writers."

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subjects "gender identity" and "belonging."
These books have the appeal factors thought-provoking, and they have the genre "autobiographical comics"; the subjects "nonbinary people," "gender identity," and "identity"; and illustrations that are "raw illustrations."
These books have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subjects "comic artists," "gender identity," and "transgender people."
These books have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subject "gender identity."
These books have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; the subjects "comic artists" and "comics and graphic novel writers"; and illustrations that are "raw illustrations."
These books have the appeal factors reflective and candid, and they have the genre "life stories -- identity -- lgbtqia+"; and the subjects "nonbinary people," "gender identity," and "transgender people."
These books have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subjects "nonbinary people," "comic artists," and "gender identity."
These books have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subject "gender identity."
These books have the appeal factors candid, and they have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "life stories -- identity -- lgbtqia+"; and the subjects "gender identity" and "identity."
These books have the appeal factors reflective and candid, and they have the genre "life stories -- identity -- lgbtqia+"; and the subjects "gender identity" and "transgender people."
These books have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subjects "comic artists," "gender identity," and "transgender people."
These books have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subjects "nonbinary people," "gender identity," and "genderqueer people."

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These authors' works have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subjects "nonbinary people," "comic artists," and "gender identity."
These authors' works have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subjects "comic artists," "gender identity," and "transgender people."
These authors' works have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subjects "nonbinary people" and "gender identity."
These authors' works have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subjects "comic artists," "gender identity," and "transgender people."
These authors' works have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subject "gender identity."
These authors' works have the genres "manga" and "autobiographical comics"; and the subject "gender identity."
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These authors' works have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subjects "nonbinary people," "gender identity," and "genderqueer people."
These authors' works have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subjects "gender identity" and "psychic trauma."
These authors' works have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "lgbtqia+ comics"; and the subject "gender identity."
These authors' works have the appeal factors candid, and they have the genres "autobiographical comics" and "life stories"; and the subject "gender identity."
These authors' works have the appeal factors candid, and they have the subjects "nonbinary people," "gender identity," and "identity."

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

An unflinching memoir of the mangaka's experience of workplace harassment as a nonbinary creator, this is an incredible reflection on identity and trauma. When Pesuyama is offered the chance to assist manga artist X, they are excited about the opportunity. But X refuses to acknowledge their nonbinary identity, first forcing femininity upon them and then escalating to more degrading humiliation. The experience leaves Pesuyama traumatized, and their life is impacted for years, as they lash out against the experience, their past, their family and friends, and the female gender they were assigned at birth. This first volume is the beginning of Pesuyama's journey to self-acceptance. Reminiscent of Nagata Kabi's My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness (2017) and My Alcoholic Escape from Reality (2021), Pesuyama's honesty about their struggles with gender identity and the shame and humiliation they felt upon being harassed by the mangaka they were assisting earlier in their career is unsparing. Their story is necessary on multiple levels, and the reader cannot help but connect with them.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

Cute, inviting artwork and a friendly narrative voice ease manga readers into this fearless and often harrowing memoir. Pesuyama, drawn as a cartoony figure with a pageboy haircut and deeply shadowed eyes, endures relentless sexual harassment while working as an art assistant to a manga creator identified as "X." The pressure-cooker atmosphere of a manga studio, where the art team works 15-hour days and sleeps and showers in the office, provides plenty of opportunities for predatory behavior. "The rowdy kid in class was stomping bugs, and everyone else was just watching," Pesuyama recalls. Seven years later, as the #MeToo movement triggers a shift in Japanese attitudes toward sexual harassment, Pesuyama confronts their trauma and delves into the childhood experiences that shaped their complex experience of gender. The script leaps from one weighty issue to another, with Pesuyama exploring sexuality, gender identity, and the visceral pain of violation. The loose, accessible linework turns frantic and jagged when Pesuyama depicts their internal anxieties. Brutally direct yet intimate and unpretentious, this comes across like a revealing conversation with a close friend. (June)

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Booklist Reviews

An unflinching memoir of the mangaka's experience of workplace harassment as a nonbinary creator, this is an incredible reflection on identity and trauma. When Pesuyama is offered the chance to assist manga artist X, they are excited about the opportunity. But X refuses to acknowledge their nonbinary identity, first forcing femininity upon them and then escalating to more degrading humiliation. The experience leaves Pesuyama traumatized, and their life is impacted for years, as they lash out against the experience, their past, their family and friends, and the female body they were assigned at birth. This first volume is the beginning of Pesuyama's journey to self-acceptance. Reminiscent of Nagata Kabi's My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness (2017) and My Alcoholic Escape from Reality (2021), Pesuyama's honesty about their struggles with gender identity and the shame and humiliation they felt upon being harassed by the mangaka they were assisting earlier in their career is unsparing. Their story is necessary on multiple levels, and the reader cannot help but connect with them. Grades 11-12. Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Cute, inviting artwork and a friendly narrative voice ease manga readers into this fearless and often harrowing memoir. Pesuyama, drawn as a cartoony figure with a pageboy haircut and deeply shadowed eyes, endures relentless sexual harassment while working as an art assistant to a manga creator identified as "X." The pressure-cooker atmosphere of a manga studio, where the art team works 15-hour days and sleeps and showers in the office, provides plenty of opportunities for predatory behavior. "The rowdy kid in class was stomping bugs, and everyone else was just watching," Pesuyama recalls. Seven years later, as the #MeToo movement triggers a shift in Japanese attitudes toward sexual harassment, Pesuyama confronts their trauma and delves into the childhood experiences that shaped their complex experience of gender. The script leaps from one weighty issue to another, with Pesuyama exploring sexuality, gender identity, and the visceral pain of violation. The loose, accessible linework turns frantic and jagged when Pesuyama depicts their internal anxieties. Brutally direct yet intimate and unpretentious, this comes across like a revealing conversation with a close friend. (June)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly.

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly.
Powered by Content Cafe

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