Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase of graphic narratives focusing on the intersection of comics and medicine, a subgenre known as graphic medicine. These memoirs, known as graphic pathographies, are written from those who interact with disease in various capacities from patient, to doctor, to caregiver. This project closely examines three graphic pathographies written about the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Prior writing, both fictional and personal memoir, on anorexia has often been considered as problematic for its ability to function as a how-to manual for anorexics. Anorexia is a complex disease that exists largely within the mind of the anorexic, yet its toll can be visibly seen on the body. Graphic pathographies, with their ability to simultaneously show through the visual format and tell through the verbal format, offer a more nuanced and holistic representation of one’s encounter with anorexia.
","abstract_html":"<p>Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase of graphic narratives focusing on the intersection of comics and medicine, a subgenre known as graphic medicine. These memoirs, known as graphic pathographies, are written from those who interact with disease in various capacities from patient, to doctor, to caregiver. This project closely examines three graphic pathographies written about the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Prior writing, both fictional and personal memoir, on anorexia has often been considered as problematic for its ability to function as a how-to manual for anorexics. Anorexia is a complex disease that exists largely within the mind of the anorexic, yet its toll can be visibly seen on the body. Graphic pathographies, with their ability to simultaneously show through the visual format and tell through the verbal format, offer a more nuanced and holistic representation of one’s encounter with anorexia.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gatchel, Kristine M."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"English Language and Literature","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Annette Wannamaker, Ph.D.","Amanda K. Allen, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:33Z","subjects":["Anorexia Nervosa","Graphic Medicine","Graphic Narrative","Young Adult Literature","Children's and Young Adult Literature","English Language and Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1022","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Annette Wannamaker, Ph.D.","Amanda K. Allen, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gatchel, Kristine M."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-07-22T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English Language and Literature"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Anorexia Nervosa","Graphic Medicine","Graphic Narrative","Young Adult Literature","Children's and Young Adult Literature","English Language and Literature"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1022"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase of graphic narratives focusing on the intersection of comics and medicine, a subgenre known as graphic medicine. These memoirs, known as graphic pathographies, are written from those who interact with disease in various capacities from patient, to doctor, to caregiver. This project closely examines three graphic pathographies written about the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Prior writing, both fictional and personal memoir, on anorexia has often been considered as problematic for its ability to function as a how-to manual for anorexics. Anorexia is a complex disease that exists largely within the mind of the anorexic, yet its toll can be visibly seen on the body. Graphic pathographies, with their ability to simultaneously show through the visual format and tell through the verbal format, offer a more nuanced and holistic representation of one’s encounter with anorexia.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Body image/imagining bodies: Trauma, control, and healing in graphic memoirs about anorexia"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Annette Wannamaker, Ph.D.","Amanda K. Allen, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Gatchel, Kristine M."],"dc:date.available":["2020-07-22T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase of graphic narratives focusing on the intersection of comics and medicine, a subgenre known as graphic medicine. These memoirs, known as graphic pathographies, are written from those who interact with disease in various capacities from patient, to doctor, to caregiver. This project closely examines three graphic pathographies written about the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Prior writing, both fictional and personal memoir, on anorexia has often been considered as problematic for its ability to function as a how-to manual for anorexics. Anorexia is a complex disease that exists largely within the mind of the anorexic, yet its toll can be visibly seen on the body. Graphic pathographies, with their ability to simultaneously show through the visual format and tell through the verbal format, offer a more nuanced and holistic representation of one’s encounter with anorexia.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1022"],"dc:subject":["Anorexia Nervosa","Graphic Medicine","Graphic Narrative","Young Adult Literature","Children's and Young Adult Literature","English Language and Literature"],"dc:title":["Body image/imagining bodies: Trauma, control, and healing in graphic memoirs about anorexia"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English Language and Literature"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:33Z"}