Reviews
For Floppy: Tales of a Genetic Freak of Nature at the End of the World (2023)
From River Teeth: A Journal of Narrative Nonfiction
“The Connective Tissue of Empathy” by Lara Lillibridge
Read it HERE.
From Library Journal:
In this compelling memoir, debut author and cartoonist Graybeal writes about her life living with chronic pain and her childhood diagnosis of the rare genetic connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. The book details her time living in Canada with her wife, her wife’s own mysterious health issues, and the author learning many years later about health options that were available to help her. Throughout the book, Graybeal weaves her story by alternating back and forth between the times of her childhood and her adulthood, which builds a sense of intrigue about events that are mentioned or foreshadowed and then revisited later.
VERDICT This book is recommended for those interested in memoirs, connective tissue and cell disorders, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and also for people living with disabilities.
—Bridgette Whitt
From Booklist:
Growing up, Alyssa Graybeal was convinced the world would end in 2012. Diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome at age 10, she also knew her body would deteriorate over time; EDS could even cause her heart to explode. In comparison, the world ending doesn’t sound so bad. “The apocalypse would get me before I degenerated,” she writes. In her candid debut memoir, Graybeal reflects on her journey with a chronic illness she did not always fully understand. Alternating between childhood and young adulthood, her honest and sometimes raw recollections of her experiences are colored with the constant aches, pains, and injuries she incurs from everyday activities, like walking downstairs. It is only in her thirties that Graybeal seeks out testing and treatment, learning that there are ways to manage her condition. This is not a tidy story, but in its messiness, Graybeal’s book reflects the complexity of life with EDS. Those coming to terms with their own chronic illness or that of a loved one will find this unflinching memoir illuminating.
—Rebecca Hopman
“Floppy is an unflinching yet charmingly written memoir of one person’s negotiations with love and body, family and geography, the internal and the external. I very much enjoyed it.”
-Michelle Tea
“Alyssa Graybeal is a genius. This coming of age memoir with its sick queer perspective will remind you that sensitivity is a strength. Her voice is refreshingly honest like a great weird friend; you can trust her to tell the truth even when it's painful, and her self-deprecating humor will have you laughing until you cry.”
-Ariel Gore
“In a spiral through time, Graybeal knits a wise, generous story of resilience and beyond. It's about alignment and aligning–with the body, with every body. It's also a story about connection and connectivity and a larger ideal of care. With a hard won and ever-present sense of humor, this is a powerful story with a cure for the ableism that ails us all.”
-Jenny Forrester
“Graybeal performs the remarkable literary feat of narrating complex childhood experiences of embodied uncertainty and suffering in a voice that is sincere – but never precious – and critical – but not jaded. Part queer coming-of-age, part becoming-crip-story, Floppy will be important for a number of audiences who are excluded from mainstream writing, a strong addition to the as-yet too small field of ‘intersectional’ memoir. For people with EDS and their loved ones – parents, partners, siblings, and children – this book is a rare blessing, the first of its kind to address not the “how-tos” of living with this condition, but the emotional landscape it creates.”
-Megan Moodie
“Graybeal’s sharp wit and keen attention to details makes reading Floppy an intimate journey across the Canadian landscape to the Pacific Northwest and into a queer body with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a condition that wreaks havoc on connective tissue. An exemplar on how to DIY a beautiful life, despite having a body insistent on falling down and coming apart. It’s both a tale of self-care and a call for change in a healthcare system that has historically gaslit people with chronic illnesses.”
-Rebecca Fish Ewan
“Graybeal pulls us into the landscape of her ‘floppy’ body with precision and grace. Brimming with queer love, cats, and the awkwardness of being human, Floppy is a roadmap for how we must learn to fight for the truth of our experiences, and how we can love the broken, beautiful body-homes we all live in.”
-Laraine Herring