Title: #thighgapAuthor: Chandler Morrison
Series: My Dark Library #2
First Published: August 30, 2022
Publisher: Cemetery Gates Media
Pages: 120
Genre: Dark Comedy, Horror, Splatterpunk
Format: Ebook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Rating:
Synopsis:
Los Angeles fashion model Helen Troy wasn’t always skinny. Drastic weight loss has given her everything–money, confidence, attention, respect. Being thin has legitimized her, and starvation has become an addiction.
Following an encounter with a seemingly “perfect” rival model who destabilizes Helen’s shaky self-confidence and shatters her fragile illusion of control, she’s sent into a tragic tailspin that will take her to the lowest depths of hell. Nightmarish versions of herself begin materializing in mirrors, and her tried-and-true coping mechanisms stop working. Reality comes apart at the seams as Helen’s disease manifests in increasingly self-destructive fashions, forcing her to ask herself…
What does perfection look like, and how much would you sacrifice to obtain it?
Get the Book: AmazonReview
Helen Troy is a gorgeous model on a path of self destruction. After growing up overweight, Helen finds success and validation by being as thin as possible, living a life of vanity and excess in L.A. Despite the control she thinks that she has over her destiny, she quickly spirals out of control when she meets another model that is younger and more beautiful than her. Helen is a flawed and unlikeable main character, but a fascinating one.
#thighgap is casts a glaring spotlight on the superficial glamour of beauty, obsession, body dysmorphia, and the addictive nature of eating disorders. Reading it made me intensely uncomfortable, not because it was gross, but because of how much I could relate to Helen. Anorexia is something I’ve struggled with for much of my life, like a shadow that’s dogged me anytime my mental health would decline and I’d find myself chasing the feeling of euphoria and control that came with restricted eating. Watching Helen cycle from feeling powerful to coming apart hurt to read. Chandler Morrison gets it.
It’s a staggeringly good book that I raced to finish, and after it gave me a lot to think about. It’s one of the better books that I’ve read on these topics and one I can easily recommend. Definitely not for the faint of heart, check your triggers.
Quote
“I hate the sound of my footsteps. They indicate my presence in the world. I want to be a thing without mass, devoid of matter, drained of all substance. I want to become nothing.”
Content Warnings
View Spoiler »About the Author
About Chandler Morrison
Little is known about Chandler’s origins. He has claimed, on separate occasions, to be both from Helltown, California, and Cleveland, Ohio. To date, it is still unclear from which locale he actually hails. He currently resides in Los Angeles, but sightings of him are rare.
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